U.S. Department
of Justice
James T. Jacks
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
MEDIA INQUIRIES: KATHY COLVIN |
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FRIDAY, APRIL 24, 2009 www.usdoj.gov/usao/txn |
PHONE: (214)659-8600
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TARRANT COUNTY MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO FORT WORTH, Texas — Royce Dean Powers, of Hurst, Texas, pled guilty today before U.S. District Judge John McBryde to one count of possession of child pornography, announced acting U.S. Attorney James T. Jacks of the Northern District of Texas. Powers, 47, who is on personal recognizance bond, faces a maximum statutory sentence of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, restitution, and a lifetime of supervised release. He is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge McBryde on August 7, 2009. According to documents filed in the case, on April 7, 2008, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents visited the Powers residence, based on a lead from a “peer-to-peer” computer investigation in Dallas. The lead concerned a target at the Powers’ residence who was acquiring child pornography from the Internet. Powers allowed agents to search his computers and they discovered child pornography. Powers admitted possessing videos of child pornography and using the search terms “young girls” and “threesomes” when locating child pornography on the Internet. 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 ### |