Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
LAS VEGAS – A Mexican national was sentenced today by United States District Judge Richard F. Boulware to 51 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for illegally reentering the United States after having been removed from the country on three prior occasions.
Source: United States Department of Justice
Today, OIP and OGIS, in collaboration with the Department of the Interior (DOI), request input from federal FOIA programs in the creation of a central FOIA technology inventory. Once completed, the inventory will serve as a living resource available to federal agencies to help inform FOIA technology acquisition and implementation decisions.
We ask agencies to designate personnel familiar with your agency’s FOIA technology to work with Dr. Jeremy Frazier at DOI on recording your agency’s technology assets. Contact information for Dr. Frazier and additional information can be found here.
Source: United States Department of Justice
A former Army soldier pleaded guilty today to child exploitation crimes he committed while living in Alaska and Texas, including attempted production of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) depicting minors known to him, and trafficking of CSAM.
Herrera
According to court documents, beginning in March 2021, Seth Herrera, 36, previously of El Paso, Texas, started using The Onion Router (TOR) and multiple encrypted and/or privacy-enhancing applications to access, possess, receive, and transport CSAM on his cell phones. Herrera used these phones to browse the dark web and used encrypted messaging applications to seek out, access and receive CSAM. He created his own publicly accessible group on one of the platforms where he stored his preferred CSAM files. In six weeks, he uploaded over 100 files to this group.
Across various applications, Herrera participated in hundreds of groups and channels dedicated to CSAM. At the time, the defendant belonged to over 400 Telegram groups and over 1,400 Telegram channels alone. Some groups focused on CSAM involving bestiality, incest, and infants/toddlers. Law enforcement seized Herrera’s devices in May 2024 and discovered tens of thousands of CSAM videos and images, depicting sadistic and masochistic content of boys and girls ranging in age from infant through pubescent.
Starting in December 2022, Herrera also used various AI chatbots on Telegram and other websites to create morphed CSAM. In some instances, Herrera would take non-explicit images of children, some known to him personally, and use AI to undress and morph bodies, and make it appear as if they were engaging in sexually explicit conduct.
While fueling his desire for online CSAM, beginning in March 2021, Herrera started taking surreptitious photos and recordings of minors known to him in El Paso, Texas. In December 2022, Herrera captured screenshots of minors via security cameras around his home. In one instance, Herrera used AI chatbots to enhance and improve the quality of an explicit screenshot. In total, Herrera secretly produced at least 28 photos and two videos of one minor from security cameras.
Herrera moved to Alaska in August 2023 and transported all his CSAM files across state lines because they were stored in password-protected photo vaults on his phones.
On Aug. 23, 2024, Herrera was arrested at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, where he served as a Specialist, after a federal grand jury indicted him on transportation, receipt and possession of child pornography. On May 14, 2025, a grand jury in the Western District of Texas indicted Herrera on production and receipt of child pornography related to his conduct in El Paso. Herrera entered his plea under a global plea agreement after the Western District of Texas transferred their case to the District of Alaska on June 15, 2026.
He is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 29 and faces a minimum penalty of 15 years in prison and a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Michael J. Heyman for the District of Alaska, U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons for the Western District of Texas, Acting Special Agent in Charge April Miller of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Seattle Field Office, and Special Agent in Charge Michele Starostka of the Army Criminal Investigation Division’s (ARMY CID) Western Field Office made the announcement.
HSI and Army CID investigated the case.
Trial Attorney Rachel L. Rothberg of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Mac Caille Petursson for the District of Alaska are prosecuting the case. CEOS Trial Attorney Rachel L. Rothberg and Assistant U.S. Attorney Mallory J. Rasmussen for the Western District of Texas prosecuted the case in Texas.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit Justice.gov/PSC.
Source: United States Department of Justice
LAS VEGAS – A Mexican national was sentenced today by United States District Judge Richard F. Boulware to 51 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for illegally reentering the United States after having been removed from the country on three prior occasions.
Source: United States Department of Justice
A former Army soldier pleaded guilty today to child exploitation crimes he committed while living in Alaska and Texas, including attempted production of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) depicting minors known to him, and trafficking of CSAM.
Herrera
According to court documents, beginning in March 2021, Seth Herrera, 36, previously of El Paso, Texas, started using The Onion Router (TOR) and multiple encrypted and/or privacy-enhancing applications to access, possess, receive, and transport CSAM on his cell phones. Herrera used these phones to browse the dark web and used encrypted messaging applications to seek out, access and receive CSAM. He created his own publicly accessible group on one of the platforms where he stored his preferred CSAM files. In six weeks, he uploaded over 100 files to this group.
Across various applications, Herrera participated in hundreds of groups and channels dedicated to CSAM. At the time, the defendant belonged to over 400 Telegram groups and over 1,400 Telegram channels alone. Some groups focused on CSAM involving bestiality, incest, and infants/toddlers. Law enforcement seized Herrera’s devices in May 2024 and discovered tens of thousands of CSAM videos and images, depicting sadistic and masochistic content of boys and girls ranging in age from infant through pubescent.
Starting in December 2022, Herrera also used various AI chatbots on Telegram and other websites to create morphed CSAM. In some instances, Herrera would take non-explicit images of children, some known to him personally, and use AI to undress and morph bodies, and make it appear as if they were engaging in sexually explicit conduct.
While fueling his desire for online CSAM, beginning in March 2021, Herrera started taking surreptitious photos and recordings of minors known to him in El Paso, Texas. In December 2022, Herrera captured screenshots of minors via security cameras around his home. In one instance, Herrera used AI chatbots to enhance and improve the quality of an explicit screenshot. In total, Herrera secretly produced at least 28 photos and two videos of one minor from security cameras.
Herrera moved to Alaska in August 2023 and transported all his CSAM files across state lines because they were stored in password-protected photo vaults on his phones.
On Aug. 23, 2024, Herrera was arrested at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, where he served as a Specialist, after a federal grand jury indicted him on transportation, receipt and possession of child pornography. On May 14, 2025, a grand jury in the Western District of Texas indicted Herrera on production and receipt of child pornography related to his conduct in El Paso. Herrera entered his plea under a global plea agreement after the Western District of Texas transferred their case to the District of Alaska on June 15, 2026.
He is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 29 and faces a minimum penalty of 15 years in prison and a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Michael J. Heyman for the District of Alaska, U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons for the Western District of Texas, Acting Special Agent in Charge April Miller of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Seattle Field Office, and Special Agent in Charge Michele Starostka of the Army Criminal Investigation Division’s (ARMY CID) Western Field Office made the announcement.
HSI and Army CID investigated the case.
Trial Attorney Rachel L. Rothberg of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Mac Caille Petursson for the District of Alaska are prosecuting the case. CEOS Trial Attorney Rachel L. Rothberg and Assistant U.S. Attorney Mallory J. Rasmussen for the Western District of Texas prosecuted the case in Texas.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit Justice.gov/PSC.
Source: United States Department of Justice
Today, OIP and OGIS, in collaboration with the Department of the Interior (DOI), request input from federal FOIA programs in the creation of a central FOIA technology inventory. Once completed, the inventory will serve as a living resource available to federal agencies to help inform FOIA technology acquisition and implementation decisions.
We ask agencies to designate personnel familiar with your agency’s FOIA technology to work with Dr. Jeremy Frazier at DOI on recording your agency’s technology assets. Contact information for Dr. Frazier and additional information can be found here.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Samuel Flores de Dios, 36, an illegal alien from Mexico, was sentenced today to 30 years in prison and a lifetime of supervised release for production of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) after he placed a camera in his bedroom and recorded himself sexually abusing a victim who was under 13-years old. He was also required to register as a sex offender.
According to court documents, on several occasions between February 2025 and March 2025, Flores de Dios brought the minor victim to his residence in Fredericksburg, Virginia, where he sexually abused her. On at least four different occasions, Flores de Dios recorded the sexual acts using cellular telephones positioned around his bedroom. One of the cellular telephones belonging to Flores de Dios also contained videos of a second adult male abusing the victim.
Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Special Agent in Charge Eric J. Weindorf of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington D.C. Field Office made the announcement.
This case was investigated by HSI with substantial assistance from the Spotsylvania Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Angelica Carrasco of the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Garnett for the Eastern District of Virginia.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit www.justice.gov/psc.
For more information about HSI’s efforts to protect children from sexual predators, visit Know2Protect.gov.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Puerto Rico, W. Stephen Muldrow, United States Attorney, in conjunction with our partner agencies in the Homeland Security Task Force (“HSTF”) announce the following prosecutorial results for the week of June 15 through June 18, 2026. The HSTF is a permanent, interagency law enforcement task force created by executive order to combat transnational criminal organizations—including cartels, trafficking networks, and foreign terrorist organizations.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
BROOKLYN, NY – Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, Natalya Ivanovna Mazulina, also known as “Natasha Mazulina,” a resident of Federal Way, Washington, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for crafting a scheme to circumvent U.S. export laws related to Russia. Mazulina was the Western Regional Manager of Delex Air Cargo LLC, a freight forwarding company based in Jamaica, New York, which operated out of John F. Kennedy International Airport and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Mazulina was arrested in December 2024 and, in October 2025, pled guilty to conspiracy to violate the Export Control Reform Act. As part of her sentence, Mazulina was ordered to forfeit $77,000 in criminal proceeds.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
A Great Falls man who had 30 pounds of meth hidden in his home and was pulled over with another 25 pounds of meth in his car was sentenced today to 12 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release.