United States Attorney James T. Jacks
Northern District of Texas

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2009
http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/txn/

UT-ARLINGTON GRADUATE STUDENT DETAINED
ON CHILD PORNOGRAPHY CHARGES

FORT WORTH, Texas — U.S. Magistrate Judge Charles Bleil has entered an order of detention pending trial for Sheldon Fernandes, 30, of Arlington, Texas, who was arrested last week on a complaint charging him with receipt and possession of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney James T. Jacks of the Northern District of Texas.

During an undercover investigation, agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) discovered that a computer at the Fernandes residence was allowing child pornography to be downloaded from the Internet. At the hearings today, evidence was presented that on December 15, 2009, during the execution of a federal search warrant at his residence, Fernandes initially voluntarily stated that he had never viewed or downloaded child pornography videos onto his personal computers. However, evidence was presented at today’s hearings that more than 100 videos of child pornography have been discovered on an external hard drive belonging to Fernandes.

The following day, December 16, 2009, Fernandes, a citizen of India who is present in the U.S. on a student visa, was stopped at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport by ICE agents before he could board a plane to Paris, using a ticket he had purchased the prior evening. While at the airport, Fernandes directed agents to the child pornography on the external hard drive. Law enforcement continues to forensically examine his computers that were seized.

A federal complaint is a written statement of the essential facts of the offenses charged, and must be made under oath before a magistrate judge. A defendant is entitled to the presumption of innocence until proven guilty. The penalty, however, for receipt of child pornography is a maximum statutory sentence, per count, of not less than five or more than 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and a lifetime of supervised release. The penalty for possession of child pornography is a sentence of not more than 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and a lifetime of supervised release. The U.S. Attorney’s office has 30 days to present the matter to a grand jury for indictment.

 This matter was 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, please visit http://www.projectsafechildhood.gov/

The matter is being investigated by ICE and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex C. Lewis.

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