United States Attorney John M. Bales
Eastern District of Texas

MOUNT VERNON MAN SENTENCED FOR CHILD PORNOGRAPHY VIOLATIONS

            PLANO, TX – U.S. Attorney John M. Bales announced today that a 37-year-old Mount Vernon, Texas man has been sentenced to federal prison for child pornography violations in the Eastern District of Texas.

           ROBERT PETERSEN pleaded guilty on Jan. 5, 2009, to using a computer to obtain and possess child pornography and was sentenced on June 9th to 120 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Richard Schell.

           According to information presented in court, in 2007, Petersen distributed, received and possessed several video clips and visual depictions of child pornography using his internet account.  Petersen admitted to possessing at least 6 video clips and 128 still images of children involved in sexually explicit conduct.  Many of these images, which Petersen obtained from the Internet, contain victims who have been previously identified by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.  Petersen was indicted by a federal grand jury on April 9, 2008, and charged with child pornography violations.

           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 United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's 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.projectsafechildhood.gov.

           This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Innocent Images Task Force and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Terri L. Hagan.

###

back to top