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EL PASO – A Louisiana man was sentenced to life in prison for aggravated sexual abuse of a minor under the age of 12.

According to court testimony and documents presented at trial, Marco Antonio Abundiz, aka Marco Antonio Abundis, 33, lived at Fort Bliss.  In October 2020, a six-year-old made an outcry against Abundiz. The investigation revealed that Abundiz had sexually abused the child on Fort Bliss on multiple occasions. Further investigation revealed that Abundiz had repeatedly sexually assaulted another minor several years prior. The defendant also admitted to downloading and viewing child sexual abuse material.

On April 1, 2022, a federal jury sitting in El Paso found Abundiz guilty of one count of aggravated sexual abuse of a minor under the age of 12 years.  Abundiz has been in federal custody since his arrest on October 27, 2020.

“Today’s sentence serves as another example that our office will do everything in its power to help ensure that those who harm children in our communities are held fully responsible for their reprehensible actions,” said United States Attorney Ashley C. Hoff. “These victims were brave. Their courageous testimony not only helped secure some measure of justice but put this pedophile behind bars.”

“A child should feel and be safe in their community,” said Jeffrey R. Downey, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI El Paso Field Office.  “I hope today’s sentencing brings some closure to the victim knowing this predator will be in federal prison for a very long time. I want to thank the members of the FBI El Paso’s Crimes Against Children/Human Trafficking task force for their work on this case and their commitment to protecting our most vulnerable population, our children, to ensure justice is served for them.”

The FBI, with valuable assistance from the Army Criminal Investigation Division, investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sarah Valenzuela and Christopher Mangels prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.