James T. Jacks
Acting United States Attorney
Northern District of Texas

SAN ANGELO - AREA MAN INDICTED ON
CHILD PORNOGRAPHY, OBSCENITY, AND ATTEMPTED ENTICEMENT CHARGES

LUBBOCK, Texas — A federal grand jury in Lubbock has returned an indictment charging Stephen Michael Loving with several felony charges involving child pornography, obscenity, and enticement, announced acting U.S. Attorney James T. Jacks of the Northern District of Texas. Loving, 62, of Carlsbad, Texas, is charged with two counts of receipt of child pornography, one count of attempted enticement of a child, one count of receipt of child obscenity, and two counts of transportation of child pornography. Loving has been in custody since his arrest on March 4, 2009, on charges in a sealed criminal complaint, which will remain sealed indefinitely.

The indictment alleges that in February and June 2008, Loving received computer graphic images depicting a child engaged in sexually explicit conduct. The indictment further alleges that from July 24, 2008, through March 4, 2009, Loving used the Internet to attempt to entice a child to engage in sexual activity. On December 22, 2008, Loving allegedly received a visual depiction of a minor engaged in obscene sexually explicit conduct. The last two counts of the indictment, alleging transportation of child pornography, state that Loving uploaded two images of a child engaged in sexually explicit conduct to the Internet for the purpose of distributing the images to another person.
An indictment is an accusation by a federal grand jury and a defendant is entitled to the presumption of innocence unless proven guilty. The receipt of child pornography, receipt of child obscenity, and transportation of child pornography counts each carry a minimum statutory sentence of five years and a maximum of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, upon conviction. The attempted enticement of a child count carries a minimum statutory sentence of 10 years and a maximum statutory sentence of life in prison and a $250,000 fine, upon conviction.

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

The case is being investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven M. Sucsy of the Lubbock, Texas, U.S. Attorney’s office.

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