Retired Customs And Border Protection Supervisor Sentenced To 10 Years In Child Pornography Case

A retired United States Customs and Border Protection supervisor was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Marilyn L. Huff to 10 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for downloading child pornography.

Former Supervisory Special Agent Lawson Hardrick, Jr., who was the assistant director for the Calexico ports of entry, was found guilty by a federal jury in January of two counts of receipt of images of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, each a felony. The verdicts followed a two-day trial before Judge Huff.

According to the evidence presented at trial, agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations conducted an investigation of persons using peer to peer file-sharing programs to make child pornography available to others. According to the forensic evidence introduced at trial, the defendant received videos of children as young as four and nine years old through a file-sharing program in 2008 through 2010. The indictment was handed up by a federal grand jury sitting in San Diego in July 2012.

Upon release, Hardrick will be required to register as a sex offender.

DEFENDANT		Case Number: 12cr3061-H
Lawson Hardrick
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Counts: 2 Receipt of Images of Minors Engaged in Sexually Explicit Conduct- Title 18, United States Code, 2252(a) (2) Maximum Penalties: 20 years incarceration with a five year mandatory minimum sentence, $250,000 fine, a minimum of 5 years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and registration as a sex offender.
INVESTIGATING AGENCY
Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations