News Releases

North Texas man sentenced to 10 years on child pornography conviction

FORT WORTH, Texas - A man from north Texas was sentenced on Friday to 10 years in prison after he pleaded guilty in December 2009 to one count of receiving child pornography. This sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney James T. Jacks of the Northern District of Texas; the case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Stacy Onken, 37, of Euless, Texas, admitted using the Internet to download video files of minor children engaged in sexually explicit conduct. A forensic examination of Onken's computer and related storage media, seized by ICE agents at his home in October 2009, revealed more than 30 video clips of child pornography.

Onken has been in custody since his arrest in October. U.S. District Judge John McBryde also ordered Onken to serve a lifetime of supervised release following his imprisonment.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex C. Lewis, Northern District of Texas.

This investigation was 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 12,000 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.

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.

This case was also brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. 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, visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.