Former Chapin High teacher sentenced to prison in child porn case
A former Chapin High School teacher was sentenced to nearly four years in federal prison for sending nude photos and explicit text messages to an undercover agent who he believed was a 13year-old girl, authorities said.
Orlando Solis, 47, was sentenced Thursday, Nov. 30, to three years and 10 months in federal prison on one count of access with intent to view a visual depiction involving the sexual exploitation of a prepubescent minor, U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas officials said.
Solis, of Horizon City, was also sentenced to five years of supervised release after he serves his prison term. He pleaded guilty to the charge in August, federal court records show.
The sentencing was handed down by Senior U.S. District Judge David C. Guaderrama at the Albert Armendariz Sr. Federal Courthouse in Downtown El Paso.
“The FBI El Paso’s Child Exploitation & Human Trafficking Task Force’s mission is to protect our nation’s children from adults willing to meet and engage children online with the purpose of engaging in Child Exploitation,” FBI El Paso Special Agent in Charge John Morales said in a statement. “To that end, we’ve accomplished the mission by ensuring Solis won’t be able to commit a hands-on sexual assault of a child.”
Solis was a mathematics teacher at Chapin High School and an adviser to the Chapin Robotics Club.
“Protecting children from sexual predators will always be a priority of this office and our partners across the district,” U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas Jaime Esparza said in a statement. “Thanks to the joint investigative efforts of the FBI and Army CID, Solis will no longer pose a threat nor further harm innocent children. Please also take this as a reminder to
talk to your children about the legitimate risks of online chat rooms and social messaging apps.”
Solis sent nude photos of himself, porn to undercover agent
Solis began talking to a 13-year-old girl Jan. 23 on the social media messaging application Whisper, a federal complaint affidavit states. However, the 13year-old girl was a U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division's Internet Crimes Against Children Unit agent.
The law enforcement agency was conducting an undercover operation looking at the enticement of minors on social networking, the affidavit states.
Solis, using the username “dog_code,” talked to the undercover agent on Whisper between Jan. 23-26. The conversation then moved to text messaging from Jan. 26-31.
Solis sent the undercover agent explicit text messages describing sexual acts he wanted to engage in with her and nine nude photos of himself, the affidavit states. He also sent links to pornography sites, officials said.
He also told the undercover agent that he had a “hidden” folder on his phone for pornography, officials said.
FBI El Paso was notified of the investigation into Solis Jan. 27, the affidavit states.
Law enforcement officers then conducted surveillance of Solis and FBI El Paso agents determined that Solis was a high school teacher.
Solis was arrested on Feb. 2. He posted a $50,000 bond and was released from jail March 1, jail logs show. He had remained out of jail as his case was pending.
A forensic examination of his cellphone revealed child sexual abuse material depicting minors as young as five or six years old, officials said.
“Army CID has a strong relationship with the FBI and continually works together to maximize our jurisdiction and investigate all crimes in and around U.S. Army installations” U.S. Army CID Southwest Field Office Special Agent in Charge Olga Morales said in a statement. “Our Army communities, and the American public, can rest assured that we continually seek out child predators and anyone that would want to do harm to members of our communities, on and off our installations.”
FBI El Paso officials urge community members to report suspected child exploitation to the agency at tips.fbi.gov or by calling 1-800-CALL-FBI (2255324).