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Press Release

Smith County Man Sentenced For Child Pornography Violations

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Texas

Department of Justice
Office of Public Affairs

 TYLER, Texas – A 39-year-old Tyler, Texas, man has been sentenced to federal prison for child pornography violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney John M. Bales today.
 
Mark Anthony Hicks pleaded guilty on June 4, 2013 to possession of child pornography and was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison today by U.S. District Judge Leonard E. Davis.

According to information presented in court, on Feb. 28, 2013, federal and local law enforcement agents executed a search warrant at Hicks’ residence in Tyler, Texas.  A computer hard drive was seized during the search and found to contain more than 100 images and nearly 30 videos of child pornography.  Hicks was indicted by a federal grand jury on Mar. 27, 2013 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 United States Secret Service and the Longview Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney L. Frank Coan, Jr. 


Updated March 12, 2015