Texas – A former Harris County sheriff’s deputy plead guilty Thursday to producing and possessing child pornography, according to a Southern District of Texas U.S. Attorney’s Office press release.
Andrew Craig Sustaita, 31, of Spring, was indicted February 2017, on the child pornography charges following an arrest for online images depicting sexual contact with a dog. He was denied bail, as he was deemed a danger to the community and a risk flight.
In his plea, Sustaita admitted to posting “child erotica images” to a child pornography website and commented on other similar images on the site. Sustaita also was involved in a “pay-to-play” bestiality website, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Images found on devices used by Sustaita included a young girl showering, his genitalia placed on or near the girl’s head while she appeared to be asleep and him trying to expose her genitalia. Investigators found the girl’s images on a computer in Milwaukee, Wis., with Sustaita admitting he had distributed the images on the internet, according to the news release.
Sustaita’s sentencing is set for June 6, where he faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 to 30 years in federal prison for sexual exploitation of a child and a 10-year-maximum sentence for possessing child pornography. He also faces a possible $250,000 maximum fine.
After prison, Sustaita could also face up to life on supervised release under special conditions set up by the court to protect children from him and to prohibit his use of the internet. Sustaita would also have to register as a sex offender.
Source: https://m.chron.com/houston/article/Ex-Harris-County-deputy-pleads-guilty-producing-12757320.php