Reported / Citable
LAREDO, Texas – A 40-year-old Laredo man has been sentenced for attempting to entice someone he believed to be a 12-year-old girl to engage in sexual activity.
Christian Estrada pleaded guilty April 8.
U.S. District Marina Garcia Marmolejo has now ordered Estrada to serve 120 months in federal prison. In handing down the sentence, the court noted how disturbing it was that someone in such a respected position would commit the offense. Estrada was further ordered to spend the rest of his life on supervised release following his prison term. During that time, he will have to comply with numerous requirements designed to restrict his access to children and the internet. Estrada will also be ordered to register as a sex offender.
From April through December 2025, law enforcement conducted an undercover operation involving Estrada, who used the name “dopehound” while communicating on Reddit, Snapchat, and Telegram.
During the online conversations, Estrada expressed a sexual interest in a fictitious 12-year-old girl and discussed arranging a meeting with her to engage in sexual activity. He also repeatedly requested nude or sexually explicit images of the child.
In November 2025, Estrada asked to communicate directly with the girl and provided his Snapchat account information. He later initiated a conversation with an undercover account he believed belonged to the 12-year-old girl. During the exchange, he requested sexually explicit images and continued discussing sexual activity.
Authorities later obtained records from Reddit Inc. that helped identify Estrada as “dopehound.” At the time, Estrada was a sworn law enforcement officer employed by the Texas Department of Public Safety as a state trooper.
Law enforcement subsequently executed a federal search warrant at Estrada’s residence while law enforcement interviewed him at another location. During the interview, Estrada confirmed the “dopehound” Telegram account belonged to him.
“Protecting minors from the depraved schemes of online sexual predators is a top priority for the Southern District of Texas,” said U.S. Attorney Aaron F. Reitz. “If somebody takes to the internet to prey on children, they are going to find their world turned upside down by this office. I will pursue these online predators to the ends of the internet in order to protect our kids and keep perverts away from them.”
Estrada has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
The FBI conducted the investigation with assistance from the Texas Department of Public Safety.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Makens is Prosecuted the case, which was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative the Department of Justice launched in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section leads PSC, which marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children and identifies and rescues victims. For more information about PSC, please visit DOJ’s PSC page . For more information about internet safety education, please visit the resources tab on that page .
Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office — Southern District of Texas — U.S. Department of Justice press release.