POTEET, Texas – A man training to become a police officer has been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for producing, uploading and distributing images of child pornography.
Armando Anthony Vidales, 25, was arrested in March 2021 at his home in Poteet.
Court documents reveal that Vidales uploaded and emailed multiple files of child sexual abuse material from one personal email account to another, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas.
“The email service provider generated a CyberTipline Report through the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children online portal,” a press release states.
Vidales was subsequently arrested and taken into custody at a San Antonio law enforcement academy.
According to a previous KSAT report, Vidales’ bonds were set at a total of $160,000. He was released on bond five days after his arrest in 2021 and required to wear a GPS monitoring device in addition to avoiding all contact with people under the age of 18.
Robert Bradly Lindsey of Shelby County and Danny Alan Reed of Henderson County were also arrested for multiple counts of possession of child pornography at the time of Vidales’ arrest, Wilson County News reported.
In addition to the prison sentence, Vidales will also be subject to 20 years of supervised release.