News Releases

Arlington, Texas, man admits possessing child pornography

FORT WORTH, Texas - A man from Arlington, Texas, pleaded guilty on Friday to an indictment charging one count of possession of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney James T. Jacks of the Northern District of Texas. The case is being investigated by the Arlington Police Department and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Thurman J. Kitchen, 40, who has been in custody since his arrest in September, faces a maximum statutory sentence of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and a lifetime of supervised release. Sentencing is set for Feb. 11.

According to documents filed in the case, in June 2010, Arlington Police Department officers visited Kitchen's residence based on a lead from someone who had purchased a computer from Kitchen. Images of child pornography were found on that computer.

Agents examined Kitchen's computer and related storage media, and discovered child pornography that Kitchen admitted downloading from the Internet. Kitchen had also been convicted in 1999 in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas for possessing child pornography.

This investigation is 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 12,800 individuals.

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.

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.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex C. Lewis, Northern District of Texas, is prosecuting this case.