United States Attorney Richard B. Roper
Northern District of Texas

EULESS, TEXAS, MAN PLEADS GUILTY IN FEDERAL COURT
TO POSSESSING CHILD PORNOGRAPHY

FORT WORTH, Texas — Larry Wood, of Euless, Texas, pled guilty today in federal court to one count of possession of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Richard B. Roper of the Northern District of Texas. Wood, 58, faces a maximum statutory sentence of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and up to a lifetime of supervised release. In addition, as part of his agreement with the government, Wood will forfeit computer equipment and property used to commit the offense. He is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Terry R. Means on September 22, 2008.

On January 9, 2008, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Special Agent visited the Wood residence as a result of a lead from the ICE cyber-crime unit in Washington, D.C. The lead concerned a target at the Wood residence who had purchased a subscription to a child pornography website via the Internet. Larry Wood admitted that he used the Internet to download and possess images and videos of minor children engaged in sexually explicit conduct. He also admitted that he knew that the images included images of real children.

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 ICE. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex C. Lewis is prosecuting the case.

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