Denton County Man Sentenced for Child Pornography Violations

SHERMAN, Texas — A 63-year-old The Colony, Texas man has been sentenced to federal prison for child pornography violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston today.

David M. Kruse pleaded guilty on Oct. 6, 2016, to possession of child pornography and was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison today by U.S. District Judge Amos L. Mazzant.

2147483647. to information presented in court, in August 2015, federal agents obtained a search warrant for a computer owned by Kruse after receiving information about an individual who had accessed child pornography from a site known to host that material. On that date, agents spoke with Kruse who admitted to owning the computer, which was later found to contain more than 20,000 images and videos of child pornography, including files depicting prepubescent minors and sadistic/masochistic conduct. Kruse was indicted by a federal grand jury on Aug. 13, 2015, and charged with child pornography violations.

This case was prosecuted 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 Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Plano Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Marisa Miller.