Former law enforcement officer guilty of sexual exploitation of a child in the Eastern District of Texas

TYLER, Texas – A former law enforcement officer has pleaded guilty to child exploitation charges in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs. Skyler Douglas Laza, 34, pleaded guilty on July 27, 2026, to two counts of sexual exploitation of a child before U.S. Magistrate Judge John D. Love. According to court documents, on at least two occasions, Laza, a former licensed peace officer, persuaded a minor under the age of 12 to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of creating a visual depiction using a cell phone. The terms of Laza’s plea agreement contain an agreed sentencing range of between 40-60 years in federal prison as well as lifetime supervision and sex offender registration. The actual sentencing will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the U.S. Probation Office. This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (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. This case is being investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, Dallas Police Department, Texas Department of Public Safety, and the Palestine Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lucas Machicek. ###