Friendswood man gets prison for child pornography charges

FRIENDSWOOD, TX (KTRK) -- Miguel Angel Macias, 54, formerly of Friendswood, has been ordered to prison for seven years following his convictions for both receiving and possessing child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson. Macias pleaded guilty July 23.

US Circuit Judge Gregg Costa sentenced Macias to 84 months on each conviction to run concurrently. In handing down the sentence, Judge Costa noted the large number of images attributed to Macias - more than 20,000. Macias was further ordered serve 20 years of supervised release following completion of his prison term and will also be ordered to register as a sex offender.

The investigation into Macias began as a result of an investigation into a website and message board by investigators in San Diego, Calif. During that investigation, a computer was traced to Macias and identified as accessing the message board and downloading images of child pornography.

A search warrant was conducted at his Friendswood home. At that time, officers seized a laptop computer, a number of CDs and several external hard drives which were found to contain more than 2,000 images and more than 100 videos containing child pornography.

Macias admitted to downloading and viewing child pornography.

Previously released on bond, Macias was taken into custody following the sentencing where he will remain pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

The charges against Macias were the result of an investigation conducted by Homeland Security Investigations, Friendswood Police Department and the Houston Metro Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.