United States Attorney Richard B. Roper
Northern District of Texas

JOHNSON COUNTY MAN ADMITS RECEIVING
AND POSSESSING CHILD PORNOGRAPHY

FORT WORTH, Texas — Joe McDonald, of Cleburne, Texas, pled guilty this morning before U.S. District Judge John McBryde to an indictment that charged him with one count each of receiving and possessing child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Richard B. Roper of the Northern District of Texas. McDonald, 48, who is in presently in federal custody, faces a maximum statutory sentence of not less than five years more than 30 years in prison, a $500,000 fine and a lifetime of supervised release. He is scheduled to be sentenced on May 30, 2008.

Prior to the indictment that was returned by a federal grand jury in Fort Worth in December, McDonald was in state custody on related charges in Johnson County.

In documents filed in Court today, McDonald admitted possessing five still images from the Internet of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. All of the images involved males, including sexual contact between an adult male and an infant male child.

McDonald will also be required to forfeit property, including three laptop computers, digital cameras and hard disk drives used to commit his offenses.

This case is being 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 commended the investigative efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Fort Worth Police Department and the Cleburne Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex C. Lewis.

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