La Porte man faces multiple sex charges after police say they found child pornography on his phone

LA PORTE, Texas (KTRK) -- A man faces multiple felony charges after an investigation into an unrelated case led to authorities finding multiple graphic images of child pornography, including local victims, on his phone, according to the La Porte Police Department.

Enrique "Ricky" Vela, 40, faces multiple charges, including continuous aggravated sexual assault of a child, possession/promotion of production of child porn and sexual performance by a child.

La Porte police said that on Feb. 26, an investigation began on the files found on Vela's phone.

Authorities said Vela was being questioned for an unrelated robbery investigation and allowed police to search one of his cell phones for any evidence tied to the robbery. It was during the search that investigators found videos saved on his phone, which depicted child pornography.

Police said a search warrant was obtained for Vela's phones to be examined in greater detail. That's when they say they found several videos of Vela sexually assaulting at least four local underage boys.

Investigators were able to identify four of the local children in those videos, whose ages range from 13 to 16 years old.

Following the investigation, charges were accepted for Vela for the crimes. If convicted, Vela could potentially be sentenced to more than 85 years in prison.

Authorities said there could be more victims, and more charges could be added as the investigation is pending.