Pasadena man gets 46 months in prison for receiving child sexual abuse material

HOUSTON — A federal judge on May 12, 2026, sentenced Christopher J. Adams, 36, of Pasadena, Texas, to 46 months in federal prison for receiving child sexual abuse material.

Adams pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas to one count of receipt of child pornography. The plea agreement, filed in the Houston division, established that Adams used the internet to exchange explicit images and videos depicting minors.

The sentence includes a lifetime term of supervised release following imprisonment. Under standard conditions for this offense, Adams must register as a sex offender under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act. He must also surrender all computers, tablets and cellphones used to commit the offense and submit to monitoring of any future internet-capable devices.

The case originated from a Homeland Security Investigations probe that identified Adams through peer-to-peer file sharing networks. Court records show agents executed a search warrant at his residence and recovered multiple devices containing hundreds of files categorized as child sexual abuse material.

This marks the latest conviction secured by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas in its ongoing effort to prosecute online distribution of child sexual abuse material. Federal law mandates a minimum five-year sentence for distribution offenses; receipt carries a five-year mandatory minimum that can be reduced under plea agreements when the defendant accepts responsibility and has no prior convictions.

Downstream, the sentence activates immediate forfeiture of Adams’s electronic devices and begins the clock on his post-release supervision, which will be managed by the U.S. Probation Office. Any violation of the computer-monitoring or registration requirements can trigger new federal charges carrying additional prison time.

The conviction also permanently bars Adams from certain occupations involving contact with children and requires him to pay a $5,000 special assessment to the Crime Victims Fund.

The Department of Justice has pursued similar cases in the Southern District throughout 2025 and 2026, with sentences ranging from three to 20 years depending on volume of material and prior record. Adams must report to the Bureau of Prisons designation center within 30 days of the May 12 judgment to begin serving his term.