Norfolk sailor sentenced to five years in prison after he was found with thousands of files of child sexual abuse material

NORFOLK, Va. - A U.S. Navy sailor stationed in Norfolk was sentenced today to five years in prison for receiving child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

According to court documents, on May 15, 2023, Sergio Octavio Garcia, 30, used PayPal to purchase CSAM from an international user for $80. On April 21, 2024, on board the USS Dwight D. Eisenhauer, agents with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) interviewed Garcia and seized his electronic devices. A digital forensics expert found 2,716 images and 3,109 videos of CSAM on Garcias devices, including the abuse of infants and toddlers.

The NCIS Norfolk Field Office investigated this case.

Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Nikolas Nelson prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.

Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District CourtLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACERLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. by searching for Case No. 2:25-cr-131.