A Palmview resident will spend the rest of his life in federal prison after pleading guilty to charges of producing child pornography and coercing or enticing a female, according to a news release.

Jesus Adrian Barraza-Vega, 35, pleaded guilty to the charges on Oct. 2024.

The victims were identified as a girl from New York, and a minor relative of Barraza-Vega.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Barraza-Vega used carious chat platforms such as WhatsApp to commit the crimes.

The investigation began in July 2023 when New York authorities discovered “inappropriate images” had been sent to an 8-year-old girl. The girl had sent sexually explicit videos and photos of herself to an individual claiming to be a 13-year-old boy, according to a news release.

An investigation revealed the IP address information matched Barraza-Vega’s location. 

During a search of Barraza-Vega phone, investigators found images and video of him “engaging in various sexual acts” with an individual identified as a minor relative.

The abuse happened from Nov. 2020 to Jan. 2024, the news release stated.

“The court heard that Barraza-Vega’s ongoing abuse of a minor family member continued until just days before his encounter with law enforcement,” the news release stated.

At Barraza-Vega’s sentencing on Tuesday, one of the minor victims was present with family, and provided a letter describing the harm he had caused her, according to the release.

“Our sincere hope is that the children who Barraza-Vega victimized can now have some measure of peace,” U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei said in a statement. “Crimes against children committed in the Southern District of Texas will be prosecuted to the fullest extent possible. The life sentence handed down today against Mr. Barraza-Vega should be a warning to other would-be abusers.”

As part of his sentence, Barraza-Vega will pay a total of $60,000 in fines, and $3,000 in restitution to a known victim.