United States Attorney James T. Jacks
Northern District of Texas

MONDAY, AUGUST 8, 2011
http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/txn/

HUNT COUNTY MAN SENTENCED TO 78 MONTHS IN FEDERAL PRISON
ON CHILD PORNOGRAPHY CONVICTION

DALLAS — Jason Joseph Billiot, 32, of Wolfe City, Texas, was sentenced this morning by U.S. District Judge David C. Godbey to 78 months in prison to be followed by a 15-year term of supervised release, announced U.S. Attorney James T. Jacks of the Northern District of Texas. Billiot pleaded guilty in November 2010 to one count of receiving child pornography. Today, Judge Godbey ordered that Billiot, who has been on bond, surrender to the Bureau of Prisons by September 9, 2011, to begin serving his sentence.

According to plea documents filed in the case, Billiot admitted that he used the Internet and peer-to-peer software to download child pornography onto his personal computer. During a search of his residence in April 2010, federal agents seized his computer and related storage material. A forensic exam of this materials revealed child pornography depicting the rape of prepubescent children.

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 www.projectsafechildhood.gov

The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason D. Schall was in charge of the prosecution.

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