A Transportation Security Administration agent taken into custody in a Miami child pornography case admitted to the offenses following a raid in which deputies killed his brother, an arrest report says.  

Cristina Barata, a TSA agent, appeared in bond court on Wednesday afternoon and told the judge that he could not afford a private attorney and invoked his right to stay silent.

Search warrant served Tuesday morning 

Wednesday's developments came one day after the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office went to the home on 102nd Place to serve a search warrant in connection with the yearlong investigation. 

Video shared by Barata's family showed the moment law enforcement broke through a fence in an attempt to serve the warrant. 

Officials said two adults and a child were safely removed from the home. Moments later, an armed man confronted deputies at the front door. "Our deputies fired their service weapon," Miami-Dade Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz said.

Brother identified as victim 

That man, identified by family as Christopher Barata, the suspect's brother, died at the scene. Both Cristian and Christopher were TSA agents. 

"The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has no tolerance for criminal behavior or misconduct on- or off-duty," a TSA spokesperson said in a statement. "The TSA employee involved has had his access to all secure areas of the airport immediately revoked and has been removed from all duties, pending the outcome of the case." 

The spokesperson said the TSA was fully cooperating with law enforcement in the investigation.

Confession detailed in arrest report 

According to the arrest report, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received about a dozen tips in October 2024 regarding a user uploading videos of child pornography. 

Details on those videos are too graphic to describe, but they allegedly included victims ranging from infancy to about 6 years old. 

Officials said they traced those videos back to Cristian Barata.

Family disputes investigation findings 

The family said they believe the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office made an error. However, the sheriff's office stated that it had investigated those claims for the past year before attempting to serve the search warrant on Tuesday morning. 

Cristian Barata was taken into custody on Tuesday, and according to the arrest report, he gave a full confession to investigators.

Sheriff calls warrant dangerous 

Cordero-Stutz said investigations involving child sex crimes are the most dangerous type of search warrant deputies can issue. She said she was thankful no deputies or other law enforcement officers were injured. The incident remains under investigation.