United States Attorney James T. Jacks
Northern District of Texas

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2010
http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/txn/

ABILENE, TEXAS, MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO
FEDERAL CHILD PORNOGRAPHY OFFENSE

LUBBOCK, Texas — Steven Lee Peyton, 46, of Abilene, Texas, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings to one count of receiving child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney James T. Jacks of the Northern District of Texas. Peyton, who is on bond, faces a statutory sentence of 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and a lifetime of supervised release. Judge Cummings ordered a presentence report with sentencing to be scheduled after the completion of that report.

According to documents filed in the case, Peyton admitted installing Limewire, a “peer-to-peer” file sharing software onto his computer to download images of child pornography from the Internet.

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 the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven M. Sucsy of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Lubbock, Texas, is in charge of the prosecution.

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