Army Pfc. Javier Pantoja Tinoco, 22, who is assigned to Fort Cavazos, Texas, admitted in court that he was drinking when he started a fire in a trash can of a barracks laundry room. He also admitted to having two sexually explicit videos on his phone of girls younger than 15 years old. (Rose L. Thayer/Stars and Stripes)
FORT CAVAZOS, Texas — A Fort Cavazos soldier was sentenced Wednesday to six months confinement and a discharge after pleading guilty to possession of child sex materials and setting fire to a trash can in the barracks during a night of heavy drinking.
Pfc. Javier Pantoja Tinoco, 22, admitted in court that he used a lighter to ignite a piece of paper in a trash can of a barracks laundry room after drinking malt liquor and cognac with a friend. He also admitted to having two sexually explicit videos on his phone of girls younger than 15 years old.
He was originally charged with setting fire to a washing machine valued at more than $1,000, which would have required a steeper punishment.
Pantoja Tinoco said it was his friend, the other soldier involved in the April 2023 incident, who had the idea to spray paint graffiti on the walls of the barracks and laundry room. The graffiti included racial slurs that were specifically derogatory to Black people and gang signs. The second soldier, who was not named in court documents, was discharged in lieu of a court-martial, Pantoja Tinoco said during an unsworn statement.
Military Judge Col. Maureen Kohn also sentenced Pantoja Tinoco to a bad conduct discharge. He will be required to register as a sex offender.
Maj. Steven Dray, Pantoja Tinoco’s attorney asked the judge to recommend to Maj. Gen. Thomas Feltey, commander of the 1st Cavalry Division and the convening authority of the court-martial, that he suspend Pantoja Tinoco’s sentence of confinement. Four people who served with Pantoja Tinoco in the 3rd Cavalry Regiment testified to his good work ethic and positivity. Dray used their words as reason to trust Pantoja Tinoco to continue to learn from his mistakes without time in prison.
Pantoja Tinoco enlisted in the Army in September 2022 and arrived at Fort Cavazos in early 2023, according to court documents and testimony Wednesday. He was assigned to the regiment’s engineer squadron.
Kohn did not indicate during the close of Wednesday’s hearing whether she would make such a recommendation.
As part of a plea agreement, charges that Pantoja Tinoco was drunk and disorderly and he damaged military property with graffiti were dismissed.
The soldier wore black-rimmed glasses and spent about 30 minutes fielding questions from the judge about his actions.
“I wanted to set the trash can on fire because I thought it would be fun,” Pantoja Tinoco said. “I am embarrassed by my actions.”
He said he did not seek out the child sexual abuse videos found on his phone. Instead, they were sent to him through a group chat on What’s App, a messaging smartphone app. Any photos or videos that Pantoja Tinoco received in app were automatically stored on his device.
Pantoja Tinoco said he joined the group as a place to share music, funny photos and videos, but soon other users began to send sexually explicit videos of children. When the videos downloaded to his camera roll, he moved them into a file on his phone labeled “CP.”
The soldier said he knew he should have deleted the photos or reported them to police because he knew even then that keeping them was wrong.
“I’m going to do whatever I can going forward for a better life,” he said. “I will try to put all this behind me as best I can.”
Since the night of the arson, Pantoja Tinoco said he has cut back significantly on drinking alcohol and will return to his parent’s home in California. He said he plans to get a job cleaning pools with his uncle or picking grapes.
