Anderson County Man Sentenced For Child Pornography

  TYLER, Texas – A 50-year-old Palestine, Texas man has been sentenced to federal prison for child pornography violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney John M. Bales today.
 
Alvin Westley pleaded guilty on Jan. 9, 2014 to possession of child pornography and was sentenced to 156 months in federal prison today by U.S. District Judge Leonard E. Davis.

According to information presented in court, on Jan. 26, 2011, Westley knowingly possessed child pornography. At the time of the offense, Westley was a registered sex offender having been previously convicted of three counts of indecency with a child.  Westley was indicted by a federal grand jury on Oct. 23, 2013, and charged with federal child pornography violations.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. 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.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security - Homeland Security Investigations (DHS-HSI), the Texas Department of Public Safety – Criminal Investigations Division, and the Anderson County Sheriff's Office.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathaniel C. Kummerfeld prosecuted this case.