United States Attorney
Northern District of Texas

1100 Commerce St., 3rd Fl.
Dallas, Texas 75242-1699

Telephone (214) 659-8600
Fax (214) 767-0978

LUBBOCK MAN PLEADS GUILTY IN
FEDERAL CHILD PORNOGRAPHY CASE

United States Attorney Richard B. Roper announced that Paul Mark Burton of Lubbock, Texas, pled guilty this afternoon in federal court in Lubbock, Texas, before the Honorable Sam R. Cummings, United States District Judge, to one count of possession of child pornography, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252(a)(5)(B). Burton, age 24, has been in custody since his arrest last month on charges outlined in a federal criminal complaint. He faces a maximum statutory sentence of 10 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine and a lifetime of supervised release. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

In documents filed in Court, Burton admitted that he used Yahoo! Instant Messenger Service, an interactive computer service, to chat with persons he then believed to be minor females. Most of these females represented themselves to be from 13 to 16 years of age. While using the Internet to chat with minor females, Burton often sent sexually explicit images to these minors, and in return, often received images purporting to be the girls with whom he was chatting. Some of the images received from these girls were sexually explicit.

U.S. Attorney Roper commended the investigative efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Lubbock Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Steven M. Sucsy, of the Lubbock, Texas, United States Attorney's Office.

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