United States Attorney James T. Jacks
Northern District of Texas

MONDAY, APRIL 18, 2011
http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/txn/

TARRANT COUNTY MAN SENTENCED TO 20 YEARS IN FEDERAL PRISON
ON CHILD PORNOGRAPHY CONVICTION

FORT WORTH, Texas — Robert John Devalk, 38, of Saginaw, Texas, was sentenced this morning by U.S. District Judge Terry R. Means to the maximum of 240 months (20 years) in federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney James T. Jacks of the Northern District of Texas. Devalk, who pleaded guilty in November 2010 to one count of receiving child pornography, was also ordered to register as a sex offender and serve a lifetime of supervised release following his imprisonment. He has been in custody since his arrest in August 2010.

According to documents filed in the case, on June 25, 2010, detectives with the Saginaw Police Department executed a search warrant at Devalk’s residence. A forensic examination of his computer and related storage was conducted and officers discovered more than 100 images of child pornography. Devalk admitted that he knowingly received, via the Internet, images and videos of child pornography of children ranging as young as 10 years old engaged in posing and in sexual acts.

According to the affidavit filed with a criminal complaint, on June 24, 2010, a detective with the Saginaw Police Department advised that during an interview, a 16-year-old victim described details of sexual encounters with Devalk that occurred at the defendant’s home. The victim stated that they had sexual intercourse and that during one of the sexual encounters, Devalk video recorded it and stored it on his computer. The victim was aware of the video recording because the victim could see the sexual encounter on the computer screen as it occurred.

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 U.S. 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. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Saginaw Police Department and the Sansom Park Police Department investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex Lewis prosecuted.

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