Tarrant County Man Convicted at Trial of Child Exploitation Violations

SHERMAN, Texas – A Kennedale man was found guilty by a jury of federal child exploitation violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei today.

Robert Allen Hall, 31, was found guilty of attempted coercion and enticement of a minor today by a jury following a three-day trial before U.S. District Judge Amos L. Mazzant, III.

“While sexual predators are actively looking for their child victims, we are also actively looking for those predators,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei. “Our law enforcement officers, federal agents, and prosecutors are dedicated to keeping the Eastern District of Texas safe from those who seek to destroy our greatest resource, our children.”

According to the court documents and testimony at trial, Hall reached out to and communicated with an individual he believed to be a 14-year-old child via a social media application. The two chatted between Feb 5, 2019 and May 21, 2019. These chats were sexually charged and contained graphic descriptions of the sex acts Hall wanted to perform on the minor child. On May 21, 2019, Hall traveled from Kennedale to a location in Collin County to meet the child. 

A federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Hall with federal violations on June 12, 2019. Under federal statutes, Hall faces up to life in federal prison. The maximum statutory sentence prescribed by Congress is provided here for information purposes, as the sentencing will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the U.S. Probation Office.

This case is 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 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.justice.gov/psc.

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

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