A 61-year-old Deweyville, Texas, man has pleaded guilty to child
pornography violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S.
Attorney John M. Bales today.
Mark James
Frederick pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography on Oct. 30, 2012
before U.S. District Judge Thad Heartfield.
According to
information presented in court, on Jan. 14, 2011, federal officials executed a
search warrant at Frederick's residence in Deweyville, Texas. A laptop
computer and numerous compact discs were seized during the search and found to
contain more than 600 images of child pornography.
Some of the material
included prepubescent children under the age of 12 engaged in sexually explicit
conduct. Frederick was indicted by a federal grand jury on Sep. 5, 2012
and charged with child pornography violations.
This case was brought 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.
Frederick faces up to 10 years in federal prison. A sentencing
date has not been set.
This case
is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Newton County
Sheriff's Office and the Garth House and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S.
Attorney Christopher T. Tortorice.
Copyright 2012 KTRE. All rights reserved.
