Houston man receives 27 years after coordinating event involving sexual abuse of toddler
HOUSTON / Monday, April 27, 2026 – A 27-year-old man has been ordered to federal prison for coercion and enticement of a minor and receipt of child pornography, announced Acting U.S. Attorney John G.E. Marck.
Victor Zuniga pleaded guilty Jan. 15.
U.S. District Judge Andrew S. Hanen has now sentenced Zuniga to 324 and 240 months for the coercion/enticement and receipt convictions, respectively. They will run concurrently for a total 324-month-term of imprisonment. At the hearing, the court heard additional evidence that Zuniga spent more than a year attempting to arrange an in-person meeting to facilitate the sexual abuse of a toddler.
Zuniga will serve the rest of his life on supervised release following the completion of his prison term. During that time, he will have to comply with numerous requirements designed to restrict his access to the internet.
A total of four videos from the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation prompted the investigation in December 2023.
Between Jan. 28, 2022, and Nov. 2, 2023, Zuniga exchanged multiple messages discussing having sex with minors. He ultimately received numerous videos and images of child sexual abuse material.
Forensic examination of Zuniga’s cell phone revealed a 42-minute screen recording of a live video feed of minor children ranging from two to 10 years of age being sexually abused.
Zuniga has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
FBI - Houston conducted the investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lauren Valenti and Kimberly Leo are prosecuting the case, which was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative the Department of Justice launched in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section leads PSC, which marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children and identifies and rescues victims. For more information about PSC, please visit DOJ’s PSC page. For more information about internet safety education, please visit the resources tab on that page.
Source: U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Texas
