CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A 26-year-old Virginia man with previous ties to Corpus Christi was convicted of possessing child sexual abuse material after a jury rejected his defense that autism prevented him from understanding the illegality of his actions.
Anthony Porche was found guilty following a three-day trial and approximately nine hours of jury deliberation, U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei announced.
The investigation began in October 2023 when authorities discovered Porche had been engaging in activity involving images and videos depicting child sexual abuse material. Law enforcement executed a search warrant at his residence and seized his electronic devices.
A physical search of his cellphone resulted in the discovery of several pornographic images. Porche admitted he downloaded child pornography on his phone over a few months and that there were at least five images of child pornography on his device.
Forensic analysis revealed approximately 500 images and videos depicting child sexual abuse material. Evidence showed some images depicted prepubescent children engaging in sexually explicit conduct and in lewd or lascivious poses.
The defense attempted to convince the jury Porche was insane due to his autism diagnosis, arguing he was not fully aware of his conduct and unable to understand that viewing and possessing child sexual abuse material was illegal. The jury rejected those claims and found him guilty as charged.
U.S. District Judge David S. Morales presided over the trial and set sentencing for April 23. Porche faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a possible $250,000 maximum fine. He was permitted to remain on bond pending the sentencing hearing.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement – Homeland Security Investigations and Corpus Christi Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patrick Overman and Izaak Bruce are prosecuting the case.
The case 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 the project, which marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children and identifies and rescues victims.
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