A Morton man has been sentenced to 13 years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice after pleading guilty to federal child pornography charges.
According to court documents, Richard Maldonado, in federal court, pleaded guilty in following an investigation resulting from a social media company cybertip to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children stating that their website was being used to distribute child sex abuse material in March 2025.
The FBI began an investigation following the tip and were led to Maldonado through the email address associated with the social media account originally reported. On July 3, 2025, Maldonado was interviewed at the Cochran County Hospital in Morton, where he was employed.
During this interview, he admitted to using a computer at the hospital and his cell phone to distribute this illicit material through the aforementioned social media account. Upon further review, it was discovered that Maldonado was in possession of one video and 39 images of child pornography.
According to court documents, Maldonado was accused of receiving and sending the material through interstate and foreign commerce.
He pleaded guilty in a federal court in November 2025 and has since been awaiting sentencing.