United States Attorney James T. Jacks
Northern District of Texas

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009
http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/txn/

FORT WORTH MAN SENTENCED TO MORE THAN SIX YEARS IN
FEDERAL PRISON ON CHILD PORNOGRAPHY CONVICTION

FORT WORTH, Texas — Fort Worth resident, John C. Pinkston, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge John McBryde to 78 months (six and one-half years) in federal prison, following his guilty plea in August to one count of possessing child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney James T. Jacks of the Northern District of Texas. Judge McBryde also ordered that Pinkston, 40, who has been in custody since his arrest in May, register as a sex offender and serve a lifetime of supervised release.

According to documents filed in the case, on May 12, 2009, agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Postal Inspectors executed a search warrant at Pinkston’s residence. Pinkston was home at the time and admitted to law enforcement that he had child pornography on his computer. An onsite forensic exam of his computer revealed more than 100 images of child pornography. Testimony at Pinkston’s probable cause and detention hearings in May showed that further preliminary forensic computer exams revealed more than 1000 images of child pornography. The government also noted in a motion filed this month with the Court that Pinkston used a secretive process to collect his child pornography by using hidden links within the Internet forum webpages. The only way to access the child pornography was to know where these hidden links were located on the screen. Once the curser was placed over the blank portion of a screen, a weblink appeared, permitting access to child pornography.

This case 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 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 http://www.projectsafechildhood.gov/

The case was investigated by ICE and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex C. Lewis was in charge of the prosecution.

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