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

JUDGE DETAINS FORT WORTH MAN ON CHILD PORNOGRAPHY CHARGE

FORT WORTH, Texas — At hearings held today in U.S. District Court in Fort Worth for John C. Pinkston, 39, U.S. Magistrate Judge Charles Bleil found probable cause and ordered that Pinkston be detained, announced acting U.S. Attorney James T. Jacks of the Northern District of Texas. Pinkston, a resident of Fort Worth, Texas, was arrested on Tuesday, May 12, 2009, on a federal child pornography charge outlined in a criminal complaint filed the same day.

On May 12, 2009, a federal search warrant was executed by inspectors with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents at Pinkston’s home on Cordone Street, in Fort Worth; Pinkston was home at the time. The affidavit filed with the complaint alleges that during the execution of the search warrant, law enforcement interviewed Pinkston and he admitted possessing child pornography on his desktop computer. An on-site forensic examination of his computer, which was located in his bedroom, revealed more than 100 images of child pornography. Testimony during today’s hearings showed that continued preliminary forensic computer examination has revealed more than 1000 images and videos of child pornography.

This case is being 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

A federal complaint is a written statement of the essential facts of the offenses charged, and must be made under oath before a magistrate judge. A defendant is entitled to the presumption of innocence until proven guilty. The U.S. Attorney’s office has 30 days to present the matter to a grand jury for indictment.

The matter is being investigated by the USPIS and ICE and it is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex C. Lewis.

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