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February 20, 2008
Dallas man sentenced to 10 years on child pornography conviction
Repeat offender was also ordered to forfeit his home to the government
DALLAS - A local resident was sentenced here Friday to 10 years in federal prison and ordered to forfeit his home following his second criminal conviction for possessing child pornography. U.S. Attorney Richard B. Roper, Northern District of Texas, made the announcement; the case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Jeffrey Davis, 51, pleaded guilty in October to possessing child pornography, and was sentenced Feb. 15 by U.S. District Judge Barbara M.G. Lynn to 10 years in prison. In addition, Judge Lynn ordered that Davis' prison sentence be followed by a 20-year term of supervised release. As part of Davis' plea agreement with the government, he has also forfeited his residence on Williams Way in Dallas, Texas, as well as the computer equipment that he used to commit his crime. Davis has been in custody since his arrest in August 2007.
U.S. Attorney Roper said, "We're taking the war on child exploitation very seriously and we're making it very personal. None of your property is safe if you use it to exploit children - you can even lose your home."
"This criminal forfeiture of a house following a child pornography conviction is a first for ICE in the Dallas area," said John Chakwin Jr., special agent in charge of the ICE Office of Investigations in Dallas. "These significant sentences and forfeitures must send a loud and clear warning signal to anyone who considers using child pornography. ICE will not tolerate anyone who sexually exploits innocent children." Chakwin oversees 128 counties in north Texas and the State of Oklahoma.
According to the factual resume filed in the case, ICE agents executed a search warrant at Davis' home on Aug. 28 and seized his computer and external storage media, including 14 floppy disks containing more than 600 images of child pornography. Davis admitted that he had purchased access to a child pornography website using his credit card. He also admitted that he downloaded images and movie files containing depictions of young girls and boys engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
Davis was also convicted of possessing child pornography in the Northern District of Texas in August 2000; he was sentenced to 15 months in prison and three years of supervised release.
This case was brought as part of 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 more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit: www.projectsafechildhood.gov/.
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 10,940 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
U.S. Attorney Roper commended the investigative efforts of ICE. Assistant U.S. Attorney Aisha Saleem, Northern District of Texas, prosecuted this case.
-- ICE --
