United States Attorney Richard B. Roper
Northern District of Texas

FORMER KAUFMAN COUNTY TEACHER SENTENCED
IN CHILD PORN CASE

DALLAS — Chad Michael Hutchins, a former teacher from Kaufman County, who pled guilty in May to one count of possession of child pornography, was sentenced this morning by Chief U.S. District Judge Sidney A. Fitzwater to10 years in prison, announced U.S. Attorney Richard B. Roper of the Northern District of Texas. Judge Fitzwater also ordered that Hutchins, age 29, of Forney, Texas, serve a 15-year term of supervised release upon his release from federal prison, and register as a sex offender. He is presently in custody.

Hutchins admitted, in documents filed in Court, that on June 12, 2007, he owned three computers at his residence in Forney, and that he knew that they contained hundreds of images of child pornography. He further admitted that some of the images were of prepubescent minors and some portrayed sadistic and/or masochistic conduct. He possessed well over 600 images, many of which he obtained by using the computers on which he had installed file sharing software.

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

U.S. Attorney Roper praised the investigative work of the Kaufman County Sheriff’s Office, the Texas Rangers, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lisa J. Miller.

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