Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
Fort Myers, Florida – U.S. District Judge Thomas P. Barber today sentenced Samuel Villarreal III (25, North Fort Myers) to five years in federal prison for possessing and accessing with intent to view images depicting the sexual abuse of children and possessing an unregistered firearm. He was also sentenced to a life term of supervised release and ordered to register as a sex offender. Villarreal entered a guilty plea on March 4, 2025.
According to court documents, from on or about December 29, 2022, through on or about June 29, 2023, Villarreal knowingly possessed and accessed with intent to view images of children being sexually abused that he sought out and downloaded from the internet.
In December 2022, the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) received a cybertip from an electronic service provider reporting that Villarreal had uploaded files that depicted child sexual abuse material (CSAM). A subsequent search warrant for Villarreal’s social media account revealed CSAM.
On June 29, 2023, the FBI executed a search warrant at Villarreal’s residence in North Fort Myers, Florida, and seized Villarreal’s laptop and cellphones. Villarreal agreed to speak with agents and admitted that he used his computer to access CSAM on the internet and that he had a folder on his computer where he stored CSAM images. He also admitted that he had also used his cellphone to view CSAM and having used the social media application.
During the search of Villarreal’s residence, agents located Villarreal’s unregistered short-barreled rifle, which they seized. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) conducted a record check of the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Records database and found no records of the firearm being registered, as required since the barrel was less than 16 inches. Villarreal admitted that he got the firearm as a rifle and modified it himself by putting a shorter barrel on it. He told agents that he never applied to have it registered with ATF, and that he was aware of the requirement before replacing the barrel with a shorter one.
The subsequent forensic examination of Villarreal’s cellphones and laptop revealed images of CSAM.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Fort Myers Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, with assistance from the Lee County Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Yolande G. Viacava.
This is another case 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 the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.