A witness told officials they saw a photo of a naked minor on 46-year-old Joel Garza’s phone. Garza deleted the photo and said his phone had been hacked.
SAN ANTONIO — A man has been rearrested after a forensic extraction revealed child pornography on his devices, BCSO says.
The investigation began on Dec. 9, 2025 when BCSO responded to a report of a sex offense involving a child. A witness told officials they saw a photo of a naked minor on 46-year-old Joel Garza’s phone. When he was confronted, Garza deleted the photo and said his phone had been “compromised by an outside party.” He later admitted he took the photo.
The next day, Garza was arrested on an unrelated active warrant. While he was being questioned, he admitted to taking “invasive” photos but still said his phone had been hacked. A search warrant was then executed on all his devices. He was released on Dec. 12, according to jail records.
On Saturday, more than a month later, BCSO received the results of the data. This extraction revealed multiple photos of what appear to be underage girls. The data confirmed the pictures were taken using the phone that Garza owned, directly contradicting his claim that his phone was “hacked,” BCSO says.
A warrant was then issued for Garza’s arrest, charging him with possession of child porn. He was arrested Saturday and booked into the Bexar County jail. His bond has been set for $100,000.