Borger, Texas, Man Sentenced To Five Years In Federal Prison On Child Pornography Conviction

AMARILLO, Texas — Aaron Robert Wells, 23, of Borger, Texas, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Mary Lou Robinson to five years in federal prison, following his guilty plea in April 2014 to one count of transportation of child pornography.  Judge Robinson remanded Wells, who had been on bond, to the custody of the U.S. Marshal.  U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas made the announcement today.

According to documents filed in the case, in March 2012, Wells was contacted online by an undercover law enforcement officer through file sharing software.  Wells had saved numerous images of child pornography on his computer and had made them available for online sharing.  Among other images, the undercover officer downloaded two images of minor males engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative, which was launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals, who sexually exploit children, and identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/.  For more information about internet safety education, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/ and click on the tab “resources.”

The FBI investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven M. Sucsy of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Lubbock, Texas, prosecuted.