Cocaine, child porn sentence

An Odessa attorney who had nude images of girls as young as 6 was sentenced to seven years in federal prison Wednesday on cocaine and child pornography charges.

Once he's released, Ralph Anthony Torres Jr., 32, will also be under 15 years supervised release, Assistant U.S. Attorney John Klassen said.

U.S. District Judge Robert Junell recommended Torres spend part of the sentence at Butner correctional complex in North Carolina, which is where offenders similar to Torres are often sentenced.

"That's designed to reduce the likelihood of recidivism," Klassen said. "The rate of recidivism (in child pornography cases) is not particularly encouraging."

Torres pleaded guilty to the charges Nov. 21. He was arrested Aug. 20 after a weeklong investigation.

An arrest warrant said Torres tried to sell a "confidential informant" a half-ounce of cocaine for $300.

The warrant also said a search after a traffic stop found 15 grams of cocaine in the gold Dodge minivan Torres was driving. A search of his home found 132 grams of cocaine and 116 grams of marijuana.

Investigators also found child pornography with pictures of nude girls as young as 6- and 8-years-old.

A forensic evaluation, which Torres acknowledged by signing a factual basis agreement, found 7,000 images of child pornography, including many of very young children, Klassen said.

Child pornography can draw people from all walks of life, Klassen said.

 "I'm very pleased (with the sentence) - he's certainly going to be out of society for a while," Klassen said.

Although he was sentenced to 84 months on both charges, Klassen said the sentences would be served at the same time.

Efforts to reach Adrian Chavez, Torres's attorney, were not successful Wednesday.