Katie 
U.S. Attorney Ryan Patrick announced today that a federal grand jury has handed down an indictment against 34-year-old Houston, Texas resident Richard Reyes Trigo.
Trigo was taken into federal custody on July 15th. At his initial court appearance U.S. Magistrate Judge Peter Bray ordered him to be held in custody "pending further criminal proceedings."
According to the Department of Justice release, Trigo has been charged with sexual exploitation of children as well as distribution and possession of child pornography.
These charges stem from his involvement on a social media chat forum allegedly frequented by "individuals who have a sexual interest in children." During a conversation Trigo is said to have stated he was "sexually active with a minor female and claimed he performed sexual acts on her." Trigo is said to have sent several images as proof of his claims.
If convicted of producing child pornography, Trigo faces a minimum of 15 and up to 30 years in federal prison, while the distribution and possession charges carry additional penalties up to 20 and 10 years, respectively. Each charge also carries a possible $250,000 maximum fine.
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