A Texas man faces serious charges for allegedly sharing disturbing child exploitation videos online for over a year
He was taken into custody by U.S. Marshals on January 7. Before that, he had moved from Rio Rancho, New Mexico, to Texas while the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office was looking into him.
At the time of the alleged crimes, Stumbo was living in an RV park in Rio Rancho and working at a solar farm near Albuquerque. He now faces 14 counts related to distributing and possessing child exploitation materials.
The FBI got involved after they traced downloads of these videos back to Stumbo’s phone. From October 2023 to March 2024, they received tips about his phone uploading these terrible videos.
When questioned, Stumbo claimed he might have “accidentally downloaded” the videos on Telegram and deleted them. He later said he bought video packages but wasn’t sure if they included anything illegal.
During the FBI interview, they found a screenshot of one of the videos on his phone. Stumbo even mentioned he stopped using Telegram because it felt “weird,” but got back on out of boredom.
A search of his phones revealed over 500 images and videos of child abuse. He also traded some of these files with others on Telegram. In one chat, someone asked if he liked the videos, and he replied, “Yes, sir … Haven’t got to watch a lot. I work a lot.”
In late April, Stumbo contacted federal authorities to check on the investigation. During the call, his wife was heard saying the videos were “downloaded on accident.”
If anyone has information about child exploitation, they can reach out to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST or visit their Cyber Tip Line online.
