Houston sex crime: Woman sexually exploited child relative, sentenced to 40 years
HOUSTON - After four years since she was brought to attention by authorities, a Houston woman is sentenced to nearly 50 years in prison for child pornography charges, says U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.
Elixis Kiera Sidney, 29, was sentenced to 40 years in federal prison for the sexual exploitation of a child, distribution, receipt, and possession convictions. She pleaded guilty to the charge on May 24, 2022.
In December 2018, authorities became aware of Sidney after they noticed she posted sexually-explicit material involving children in a private Kik chat group.
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She posed a picture of herself naked in the bathroom, and then posted another, similar, picture but with a nude, male child around 2-years-old while she was touching herself.
Other videos included the minor and Sydney touching each other in a sexual manner.
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According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Sidney’s home was visited by investigators on Dec. 10, 2018, and she admitted to creating the videos and utilizing the Kik account. There was a minor victim who was also a relative of her’s in the home at the time.
Investigators learned through forensic examinations of her electronics and online storage, Sidney had been distributing and receiving child pornography in the Kik chat group since November 2018.
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Images and videos were found showing Sidney sexually abusing the same minor victim including two images of a 3-year-old minor relative, officials say. Law enforcement also found approximately 100 images and 120 videos of child pornography.
"The depravity of what this woman did to her own relatives – two and three-year-old children - is abhorrent," said Hamdani. "Instead of protecting the toddlers, she used them to feed her sick sexual deviancy, one she displayed on social media. Thankfully, we can now protect these young lives and mitigate future dangers by helping put Sidney where she belongs for the next few decades – behind federal prison bars."
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During the 29-year-old’s hearing, the court heard from the mother of a 3-year-old relative Sidney recorded herself sexually abusing who shared how she felt betrayed by the woman’s actions to her daughter when she was supposed to be babysitting.
Court records state the hearing discussed a psychological evaluation Sidney underwent in which a doctor declared she was at an average to high risk to re-offend and she had a strong interest in children since she was 10.
The U.S. Attorney's Office says Sidney was also ordered to pay $18,000 in restitution to the victims and she will serve the rest of her life on supervised release for the sexual exploitation conviction following the completion of his prison term. She will have to comply with numerous requirements designed to restrict her access to children and be ordered to register as a sex offender.
Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation. Sidney will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.