United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California
03/25/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 03/25/2026 15:50
San Jose Man Sentenced To 30 Years In Prison Following His Second Federal Child Exploitation Conviction
SAN JOSE - Christopher Schuette was sentenced yesterday to 30 years in federal prison following his conviction at trial on charges of possession of child pornography and attempted enticement of a minor. U.S. District Judge Beth Labson Freeman handed down the sentence.
Schuette, 42, of San Jose, was indicted by a federal grand jury on June 22, 2022, on one count of possession of child pornography. The government obtained a superseding indictment on October 12, 2022, that added a charge of attempted enticement of a minor. On January 25, 2023, a jury found Schuette guilty of both charges.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Schuette-who had been released from prison in December 2021 following a previous federal conviction for, among other crimes, distribution of child pornography-was arrested in February 2022 in possession of a smartphone that contained more than 1,200 images of child pornography. Subsequent investigation revealed that Schuette had been using multiple Instagram profiles to communicate with others about child pornography. For example, Schuette enticed one Instagram user who said she was an 11-year-old girl to create and send him sexually explicit videos of herself and others. And he told another Instagram user that he was particularly attracted to girls 7-12 years old.
United States Attorney Craig H. Missakian and FBI Acting Special Agent in Charge Matt Cobo made the announcement.
Schuette has been in custody since he was arrested in February 2022. He will begin serving his prison term immediately. In addition to the prison term, Judge Freeman ordered Schuette to serve a lifetime of supervised release following his prison term and to pay restitution in an amount to be determined at a later date to the victims of his crimes.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas M. Parker is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Laurie Worthen. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the FBI.
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