Texas man sentenced to 25 years for abusing 4-year-old boy in dark web video
NORTH TEXAS – A Texas man shown in a 26-second video on the dark web abusing a 4-year-old boy has been sentenced to 25 years in federal prison and required to register as a sex offender, a top prosecutor announced Wednesday.
On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendrix sentenced Victor Van Taylor, 31, of Abilene, after he admitted to the production of child pornography, according to Chad Meacham, acting U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Texas.
According to authorities, the 4-year-old was the son of Taylor's friend and was likely assaulted while Taylor was babysitting.
Taylor was charged in June 2024 after authorities found the video of an adult man sexually abusing the young child on the dark web and later identified him as Taylor.
"While executing a search warrant at his home, officers showed Mr. Taylor a screengrab of the video and asked if he produced it," the U.S. attorney's office said. "Mr. Taylor lowered his head and admitted that he had produced the video and posted it online in exchange for other child sexual abuse material."
Taylor was indicted in July 2024 and pleaded guilty in September 2024, when he confessed to producing and posting the video online, authorities said.
The FBI's Dallas Field Office conducted the investigation, while the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Texas — Abilene Division handled the prosecution.