United States Attorney
Northern District of Texas

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

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

ABILENE, TEXAS, MAN ADMITS POSSESSING CHILD PORNOGRAPHY

LUBBOCK, Tx., --- Darren Lee Upfold, of Abilene, Texas, pled guilty today in federal court in Lubbock to one count of possession of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Richard B. Roper of the Northern District of Texas. He faces a maximum statutory sentence of ten years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and a lifetime of supervised release. Upfold, age 41, has been in custody since his arrest in February 2007 on charges outlined in a three-count federal indictment. Sentencing will be by U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings on a date to be scheduled.

In documents filed in Court, Upfold admitted that during all of 2006, he would spend approximately one hour each day surfing the Internet for adult and child pornography. When searching for child pornography, Upfold used specific search terms to locate “underage” images and video clips of children seven years old and older, engaged in sexually explicit conduct. He stored the child pornography on his computer and routinely deleted his collection every few weeks to save space on his computer’s hard drive.

On December 22, 2005, Unfold was online using his file sharing software program when an undercover Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent downloaded five images of child pornography from Upfold’s computer. Upfold admitted that he was in possession of child pornography on the date the images were downloaded from his computer.

This case is being brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In February 2006, Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales launched Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys Offices, 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 identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov

U.S. Attorney Roper praised the investigative efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven M. Sucsy of the Lubbock, Texas, U.S. Attorney’s Office.

###