Distributing pornography results in federal prison time for Katy sex offender

HOUSTON, TX -- A 45-year-old man has been sent to federal prison following his conviction for a child pornography charge while on deferred adjudication for another similar offense, announced U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery.

Manuel Candia-Reuter pleaded guilty June 9, 2021.

Today, U.S. District Judge Gray H. Miller ordered Candia-Reuter to serve 180 months in prison to be immediately followed by 10 years of supervised release. During that time, he will have to comply with numerous requirements designed to restrict his access to children and the internet. Candia-Reuter is a registered sex offender and had been serving a deferred sentence for previous possession of child pornography.

The investigation began in March 2019, when authorities discovered Candia-Reuter had uploaded or distributed child pornography material via Skype.

Law enforcement executed a search warrant at Candia-Reuter’s residence July 12, 2019. At that time, Candia-Reuter admitted to distributing images of child pornography to another user on Skype.

Candia-Reuter also acknowledged he had been attending therapy sessions while on deferred adjudication for possession of child pornography. He relapsed and again began searching for child pornography.

He has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

The FBI conducted the investigation with assistance of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kimberly Ann Leo and Sherin Daniel prosecuted the case, which was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative the Department of Justice (DOJ) 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 PSC, which marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children and identifies and rescues victims. For more information about PSC, please visit DOJ’s PSC page. For more information about internet safety education, please visit the resources link on that page.