United States Attorney James T. Jacks
Northern District of Texas

FRIDAY, JUNE 24, 2011
http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/txn/

TWO PLEAD GUILTY TO FEDERAL CHILD PORNOGRAPHY OFFENSES

LUBBOCK, Texas — Two defendants, charged in unrelated cases, entered guilty pleas to child pornography offenses yesterday before U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings, announced U.S. Attorney James T. Jacks of the Northern District of Texas. In both cases, Judge Cummings ordered a presentence investigation report with sentencing to be set after the completion of that report.

In the first case, Garrett David Blair, 23, formerly of Lubbock, pleaded guilty to one count of receiving child pornography. He admitted that in October 2009, while he was residing in Lubbock, he knowingly and intentionally downloaded child pornography from the Internet onto his personal computer. Blair faces a statutory sentence of not less than five years, or more than 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and up to a lifetime of supervised release. Blair remains on personal recognizance bond.

In the other case, Ronnie Craig Lance, 41, formerly of Wolfforth, Texas, pleaded guilty to one count of possessing child pornography. Lance admitted that he had downloaded from the Internet onto his personal computer, sexually explicit images of minor females. He also remains on personal recognizance bond.

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

Both cases were investigated by the Office of the Texas Attorney General - Criminal Investigation Division and the Lubbock Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven M. Sucsy of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Lubbock, Texas, is in charge of the prosecutions.

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