Texas National Guard Member Sentenced to 10 Years for Child Pornography Possession

DEL RIO, TX -– A Texas man was sentenced in a federal court in Del Rio to 10 years in prison for possessing prepubescent child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons for the Western District of Texas.

According to court documents, Estin Cole West, 25, operated a Google account that had been identified as saving 81 videos and images of suspected child sexual abuse material in November 2023 when he was living in Laredo. An investigation by Homeland Security Investigations revealed the Google account, IP address, and two associated email addresses all belonged to West. 

HSI agents also learned that West was employed by the Texas National Guard and had recently been stationed at a military installation in Del Rio. During an interview with West, agents located multiple videos depicting CSAM in a locked folder within West’s phone, as well as a Telegram application that also contained several batches of CSAM. A forensic analysis of West’s phone returned 512 images and 726 videos depicting child pornography, including images of bestiality and prepubescent children.

West was arrested on Dec. 6, 2024. He pleaded guilty on March 24, 2025. 

ICE HSI investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Nallely Duarte prosecuted the case.

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 www.justice.gov/psc.