Abilene Man Sentenced To 10 Years In Federal Prison On Child Pornography Conviction

ABILENE, Texas — Roy Paul Granger, 42, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Jorge A. Solis to 10 years in federal prison, following his guilty plea in January 2013 to one count of receipt of child pornography. Granger has been in custody since January 25, 2013. Today’s announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

According to documents filed in the case, Granger owned a computer, which he kept at his residence in Abilene, Texas, that was connected to the Internet. In April 2012, while searching online, using peer-to-peer software, for sexually explicit images of minors, Granger downloaded an image of child pornography onto his personal computer.

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative, which was launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals, who sexually exploit children, and identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/. For more information about internet safety education, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/ and click on the tab “resources.”

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Abilene Police Department and the Lubbock Police Department’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven M. Sucsy was in charge of the prosecution.