A Texas couple were sentenced Wednesday to 60 years each in prison for filming themselves sexually abusing kids, a case that prosecutors say involved more than two dozen young victims including babies.
A federal judge in Waco gave Christopher Almaguer and his wife Sarah Rashelle Almaguer the maximum prison sentences. They had pleaded guilty in October to one count each of sexual exploitation of children and production of child pornography.
Paul Perez Jr., Christopher Almaguer's brother, also was sentenced to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to two counts of receiving child porn.
This undated photo provided by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas shows Christopher Almaguer. Almaguer and his wife Sarah Rashelle Almaguer were sentenced Wednesday, April 24, 2019, to 60 years each in prison for filming themselves sexually abusing kids, in a case that prosecutors say involved more than two dozen young victims, some of them babies. (Office of the Attorney General of Texas via AP)
The Almaguers filmed themselves sexually assaulting at least 25 children — ranging in age from 8 months to 14 years old — including members of their own family, children they baby-sat for and kids from their Central Texas church, federal prosecutors said. Court records say the 27-year-olds were the legal guardians of at least one of the children.
"The sexual abuse involved here is the most indescribable abuse imaginable," John Bash, U.S. attorney for the Western District of Texas, said Wednesday, adding that Almaguers are "probably two of the worst criminals in the history of Texas."
U.S. District Judge Alan Albright also sentenced Perez and both Almaguers to a lifetime of supervised release and ordered each of them to pay $10,000 to a victims' compensation fund.
This undated photo provided by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas shows Paul Perez Jr., a brother of Christopher Almaguer. Christopher Almaguer and his wife Sarah Rashelle Almaguer were sentenced Wednesday, April 24, 2019, to 60 years each in prison for filming themselves sexually abusing kids, in a case that prosecutors say involved more than two dozen young victims, some of them babies. Perez was also sentenced to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to two counts of receiving child porn. (Office of the Attorney General of Texas via AP)
State and federal law enforcement officials arrested the Almaguers last year in their hometown of Killeen, a city about 70 miles (110 kilometers) north of Austin, after receiving an anonymous tip to an online child exploitation hotline.
Bash said it's unknown how many people the Almaguers sent their child porn to online.
"These kids' suffering and abuse will continue for their entire lives because those images will be continually shared online," he said.
TOKYO (AP) — The American envoy to the United Nations called Friday for countries armed with atomic weapons to pursue nuclear disarmament as she visited the atomic bomb museum in Nagasaki, Japan.
Linda Thomas-Greenfield, who became the first U.S. cabinet member to visit Nagasaki, stressed the importance of dialogue and diplomacy amid a growing nuclear threat in the region.
“We must continue to work together to create an environment for nuclear disarmament. We must continue to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons in every corner of the world,” she said after a tour of the atomic bomb museum.
“For those of us who already have those weapons, we must pursue arms control. We can and must work to ensure that Nagasaki is the last place to ever experience the horror of nuclear weapons,” she added, standing in front of colorful hanging origami cranes, a symbol of peace.
The United States dropped the world’s first atomic bomb on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, destroying the city and killing 140,000 people. A second attack three days later on Nagasaki killed 70,000 more people. Japan surrendered on Aug. 15, ending World War II and its nearly half-century of aggression in Asia.
Nagasaki Gov. Kengo Oishi said in a statement that he believed Thomas-Greenfield's visit and her first-person experience at the museum “will be a strong message in promoting momentum of nuclear disarmament for the international society at a time the world faces a severe environment surrounding atomic weapons.”
Oishi said he conveyed to the ambassador the increasingly important role of Nagasaki and Hiroshima in emphasizing the need of nuclear disarmament.
Thomas-Greenfield's visit to Japan comes on the heels of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's official visit to the United States last week and is aimed at deepening Washington's trilateral ties with Tokyo and Seoul. During her visit to South Korea earlier this week, she held talks with South Korean officials, met with defectors from North Korea and visited the demilitarized zone.
The ambassador said the United States is looking into setting up a new mechanism for monitoring North Korea's nuclear weapons program. Russia and China have thwarted U.S.-led efforts to step up U.N. sanctions on North Korea over its ballistic missile testing since 2022, underscoring a deepening divide between permanent Security Council members over Russia’s war on Ukraine.
She said it would be “optimal” to launch the new system next month, though it is uncertain if that is possible.
The U.N. Security Council established a committee to monitor sanctions, and the mandate for its panel of experts to investigate violations had been renewed for 14 years until last month, when Russia vetoed another renewal.
In its most recent report, the panel of experts said it is investigating 58 suspected North Korean cyberattacks between 2017 and 2023 valued at approximately $3 billion, with the money reportedly being used to help fund its weapons development.
The United States, Japan and South Korea have been deepening security ties amid growing tension in the region from North Korea and China.
U.S. Ambassador to United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, left, and Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, right, shake hands during a meeting Friday, April 19, 2024, at prime minister's office in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)
U.S. Ambassador to United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, left, and Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, right, shake hands during a meeting Friday, April 19, 2024, at prime minister's office in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)
U.S. Ambassador to United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, right, speaks to Rahm Emanuel, U.S. Ambassador to Japan, second right, as they wait for a meeting with Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida Friday, April 19, 2024, at prime minister's office in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)
U.S. Ambassador to United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, left, and Rahm Emanuel, U.S. Ambassador to Japan, right, walk to meet Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida Friday, April 19, 2024, at prime minister's office in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)
U.S. Ambassador to United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, left, and Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, right, talk prior to a meeting Friday, April 19, 2024, at prime minister's office in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)
U.S. Ambassador to United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, left, and Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, right, prepare to talk during a meeting Friday, April 19, 2024, at prime minister's office in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)
