August 6, 2008

East Texas man sentenced to 25 years for child pornography violations

MARSHALL, Texas - A resident of Gilmer, Texas, was sentenced here Wednesday to 25 years in prison for producing child pornography.  U.S. Attorney Rebecca A. Gregory, Eastern District of Texas, announced the sentence; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) conducted the investigation.

Milton Keith Bunn, 43, was indicted March 12 and charged with sexually exploiting children.  Bunn pleaded guilty to the charges on April 24 and was sentenced to 300 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge T. John Ward.  

According to information presented in court, Bunn sexually exploited a minor by producing visual images of the child containing sexually explicit conduct.

"The sexually exploited victims of child pornography are devastated from these horrific experiences throughout their lives," said John Chakwin, special agent in charge of the ICE Office of Investigations in Dallas.  Chakwin oversees 128 counties in north Texas and the State of Oklahoma.

This case is part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC).  In February 2006, the Department of Justice created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse.  Led by the U.S. Attorneys Offices, 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 identify and rescue victims.  For information about Project Safe Childhood, visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

This case was investigated by ICE, the Upshur County Sheriff's Office and the Longview Police Department's Cyber Crimes Unit and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Ann Cozby.

This investigation was also part of Operation Predator, a nationwide ICE initiative to protect children from sexual predators, including those who travel overseas for sex with minors, Internet child pornographers, criminal alien sex offenders, and child sex traffickers.  Since Operation Predator was launched in July 2003, ICE agents have arrested more than 11,000 individuals, including more than 1,080 in Texas.

ICE encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-DHS-2ICE. This hotline is staffed around the clock by investigators.

Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, at 1-800-843-5678 or http://www.cybertipline.com.

-- ICE --

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was established in March 2003 as the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security. ICE is comprised of five integrated divisions that form a 21st century law enforcement agency with broad responsibilities for a number of key homeland security priorities.

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