United States Attorney James T. Jacks
Northern District of Texas

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2009
http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/txn/

JUDGE ORDERS BEDFORD, TEXAS, MAN DETAINED
ON DISTRIBUTION OF CHILD PORNOGRAPHY CHARGE

FORT WORTH, Texas — U.S. Magistrate Judge Charles Bleil has entered an order of detention pending trial for Thomas James Murphy, III, 26, of Bedford, Texas, who was arrested this week on a complaint charging distribution of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney James T. Jacks of the Northern District of Texas.

According to the affidavit filed with the criminal complaint, on October 3, 2009, FBI agents reviewed a mirror image of a laptop computer that belonged to an individual who had been interviewed by FBI agents in Honolulu, Hawaii, regarding trading child pornography with an individual known as “Tommy.” This individual advised agents that Tommy had sent him child pornography consisting of illegal nude images of his two-year-old and four-year-old daughters. Further investigation revealed that Tommy is Thomas James Murphy, III.

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 for distribution 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 U.S. Attorney’s office has 30 days to present the matter to a grand jury for indictment.

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

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

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