West Texas man sentenced to life in prison for child exploitation crimes

ABILENE, Texas (KFDA) - A West Texas man will spend life in prison for child exploitation offenses that span multiple years.

United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Ryan Rabould announced 34-year-old Troy Nathaniel Navarro was sentenced Oct. 1 to life in federal prison.

Navarro pleaded guilty to enticement of a minor, production of child pornography, and commission of a felony offense involving a minor by a registered sex offender on May 8.

The Court imposed the following sentence:

• Life imprisonment for enticement of a minor
• 600 months (50 years) for production of child pornography
• 120 months (10 years) for a felony offense involving a minor by a registered sex offender

“This life sentence, imposed as a result of multiple violations by a registered sex offender, underscores our commitment to holding perpetrators accountable for crimes against children,” said FBI Dallas Special Agent in Charge R. Joseph Rothrock. “The FBI, alongside our law enforcement partners, remain dedicated to protecting the most vulnerable members of our communities.”

According to court records, from 2023 through 2026, Navarro knowing or attempted to employ, use, persuade, induce, coerce, or entice minor victims to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing visual depictions of such conduct.

As part of his guilty plea, Navarro admitted he used the Internet, cellular devices, and loud-based applications - all facilities of interstate commerce - to carry out his offenses.

The case originated from a CyberTip report received by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, indicating possible child exploitation material liked to an account stored within a commercial cloud service platform.

Investigators with the Texas Department of Public Safety’s Criminal Investigations Division developed the initial lead, identifying subscriber information and linking the activity to Navarro’s residence in Throckmorton, Texas.

Digital-forensics personnel from state and federal agencies executed search warrants, retrieving electronic evidence across multiple devices and accounts.

The recovered data established his extensive digital communications, his use of interstate-commerce channels and his role in producing child pornography.

Court documents say he admitted to using interstate communications systems to entice a minor and produce illegal visual depitcions.

He has a prior conviction for aggravated sexual assault of a child.

As a registered sex offender, this new felony conduct involving a minor triggered enhanced penalties under federal law.

His life and 50-year sentences will run at the same time, while the 10-year sentence will follow those earlier counts.