United States Attorney James T. Jacks
Northern District of Texas

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2010
http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/txn/

WICHITA COUNTY MAN ADMITS POSSESSING CHILD PORNOGRAPHY

WICHITA FALLS, Texas — William L. Ferguson, 38, of Burkburnett, Texas, pleaded guilty today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert K. Roach to one count of possessing child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney James T. Jacks of the Northern District of Texas. Ferguson was arrested September 2, 2010, on a related charge outlined in a federal criminal complaint, but was released on bond. He faces a maximum statutory sentence of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and a lifetime of supervised release; sentencing is set for February 15, 2011, before U.S. District Judge Reed C. O’Connor.

According to documents filed in the case, on December 23, 2009, special agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) visited the Ferguson residence based on a lead from the ICE Cyber Crimes Center. The lead concerned a target at the Ferguson residence, who was accessing and possessing child pornography via the Internet using peer-to-peer software. An examination of Ferguson’s computer and related storage media was performed and agents discovered child pornography.

Ferguson, a member of the U.S. Air Force, admitted that he used the Internet to acquire child pornography and that he viewed and saved images of minor female children, engaged in sexually explicit conduct, to his computer.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. 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 ICE and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex C. Lewis, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Fort Worth, Texas.

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