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Press Release

Mansfield Special Needs Instructor Arrested and Detained on Federal Child Pornography Offense

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Texas

FORT WORTH, Texas — Kelly Dan Williams, a special needs instructor at Mansfield Independent School District’s (ISD) Mary Orr Intermediate School, has been charged in a federal complaint with production of child pornography, announced Acting U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Williams, 62, was arrested Friday on the federal offense, and he made his initial appearance today in federal court in Fort Worth where U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffrey L. Cureton ordered that he remain in federal custody pending a probable cause and detention hearing set for Wednesday morning.

According to the filed complaint, on June 1, 2015, an individual at Mary Orr Intermediate School observed Williams performing a sex act on an 11-year-old male student in a school bathroom stall. This individual reported this to the school’s administration, and Williams was directed to report to the Human Resources office.

During the course of an investigation, Mansfield Police obtained a search warrant for Williams’ residence, where they seized electronic storage devices, to include an SD card. A forensic examination revealed that a video located on the SD card depicted Williams performing a sex act on a minor male, who appears to be younger than age 12, in what appears to be a school bathroom stall. Further forensic analysis indicates that the video was created on or about February 3, 2010.

A federal complaint is a written statement of the essential facts of the offenses charged and must be made under oath before a magistrate judge. A defendant is entitled to the presumption of innocence until proven guilty. The maximum statutory penalty for the offense as charged is not less than 15 years, or more than 30 years, in federal prison, a $250,000 fine and a lifetime of supervised release.

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 Mansfield ISD Police Department, the Mansfield Police Department and the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office are investigating.

Assistant U.S. Attorney A. Saleem is in charge of the prosecution.

Updated June 26, 2015

Topic
Project Safe Childhood