|
WICHITA FALLS MAN SENTENCED TO 20 YEARS IN FEDERAL PRISON
ON FEDERAL CHILD PORNOGRAPHY CONVICTIONS
WICHITA FALLS, Texas — A 21-year-old man living in Wichita Falls, Texas, who pleaded guilty in September to several child pornography offenses, Tyler Brock Trantham, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Reed C. O’Connor to a total of 20 years in federal prison to be followed by a lifetime of supervised release, announced U.S. Attorney James T. Jacks of the Northern District of Texas. In addition, Judge O’Connor ordered that Trantham pay $219,000 in restitution. He has been in federal since he was remanded following his guilty plea in September 2009.
Specifically, Trantham pleaded guilty to one count of attempted transporting and shipping of child pornography, one count of possession of child pornography and one count of attempted receipt of child pornography.
According to documents filed in the case, on April 2, 2009, an undercover agent used file-sharing software to download images of child pornography from network user “Lucylove95,” or Trantham. In June 2009, a search warrant was executed at Trantham’s residence and FBI agents seized his laptop. Trantham admitted that he was “Lucylove95" and that he used file sharing software to allow others to download his stored images and videos of child pornography and to receive images of child pornography.
A preliminary examination of Trantham’s seized laptop computer revealed that he had more than 600 images of child pornography. Trantham also admitted that he possessed sadistic images, which included the bondage of minors.
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
U.S. Attorney Jacks praised the investigative efforts of the FBI, the Wichita Falls Police Department, the Bowie Police Department and the Montague County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Aisha Saleem of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Dallas, Texas, prosecuted the case.
###
|
|