United States Attorney James T. Jacks
Northern District of Texas

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2010
http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/txn/

FORMER KAUFMAN COUNTY, TEXAS, CHURCH MUSIC MINISTER
PLEADS GUILTY TO CHILD PORNOGRAPHY CHARGES

DALLAS — David Ray Gray, 60, pleaded guilty today to a two-count indictment charging him with felony child pornography offenses, announced U.S. Attorney James T. Jacks of the Northern District of Texas. Gray, who until recently was the Music Minister at the Mt. Olive Baptist Church near his residence in Scurry, Texas, has been on bond since his arrest on November 23, 2009, on charges outlined in a criminal complaint. He was subsequently charged in a federal indictment in mid-December 2009.

Specifically, Gray pleaded guilty to Count 1 of the indictment charging receipt and attempted receipt of child pornography, and Count 2 of the indictment charging possession of child pornography. According to documents filed, on September 11, 2009, Gray downloaded an image of child pornography from the Internet, and on November 3, 2009, he possessed more than three visual depictions, including video files and still images, of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

Gray faces a maximum statutory sentence of not less than five or more than 30 years in federal prison, a $500,000 fine and a lifetime of supervised release. He is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade on June 2, 2010.

According to the affidavit filed with the complaint, on November 3, 2009, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents visited the Gray residence, based on a lead from the ICE Cyber Crimes Center, Child Exploitation Section. The lead concerned a target at the Gray residence who was purchasing subscriptions to a child pornography website via the Internet.

Gray voluntarily stated that he had viewed and downloaded child pornography pictures onto his personal computers and stated that he had purchased a 30-day subscription to a child pornography site. A search of his home computer and his church office computer both revealed images of child pornography.

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 Aisha Saleem.

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