DEL RIO, TEXAS — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (USAO - Texas, Western), published as received.

DEL RIO, Texas – An illegal alien from Honduras pleaded guilty in Del Rio today to possession of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons for the Western District of Texas.

According to court documents, on March 12, 2025, Herman Daniel Diaz-Aguilera, 26, was pulled over by a Texas Department of Public Safety (TX DPS) Trooper in Dimmit County for defective headlights. Diaz-Aguilera provided the Trooper with a Honduran identification card instead of a driver’s license. A subsequent immigration inspection by a U.S. Border Patrol agent determined Diaz-Aguilera was an illegal alien from Honduras, and he was taken to the Carrizo Springs Border Patrol station for further processing.

Diaz-Aguilera stated he was working as a scout for an alien smuggler and was going to be paid $2,000 for each person smuggled into the United States. A search of his cell phone revealed a video depicting a minor engaged in a sexual act. Further investigation led to Diaz-Aguilera admitting he was a member of a WhatsApp group chat, from which he received and saved the child sexual abuse material. A forensic analysis of the phone revealed multiple image files and seven video files depicting the sexual assault of infants and toddlers along with approximately 95 images and 301 videos depicting children engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

On Oct. 15, 2026, Diaz-Aguilera pleaded guilty to one count of possession of child pornography and faces up to 20 years in federal prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations, TX DPS, and U.S. Border Patrol investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Nallely Duarte is prosecuting 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 Justice.gov/PSC.

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