United States Attorney Richard B. Roper
Northern District of Texas

ABILENE, TEXAS, MAN SENTENCED TO MORE THAN 7 YEARS
IN FEDERAL PRISON, WITHOUT PAROLE,
ON CHILD PORNOGRAPHY CONVICTION

LUBBOCK, Tx. — Abilene, Texas, resident, Darren Lee Upfold, was sentenced today in Lubbock by U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings, to 87 months in prison, announced U.S. Attorney Richard B. Roper, of the Northern District of Texas. Upfold, 41, pled guilty in April to one count of interstate receipt of child pornography. Judge Cummings also ordered that Upfold serve a life term of supervised release and register as a sex offender after service of his custody sentence. Upfold has been detained without bond pending trial since his arrest on February 23, 2007.

In a three-count indictment returned in February 2007, Upfold was charged with one count of transportation of child pornography, one count of distribution of child obscenity, and one count of possession of child pornography. In pleading guilty to one count of interstate receipt of child pornography, 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 Unfold’s 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 United States 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.

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