United States Attorney James T. Jacks
Northern District of Texas

THURSDAY, JANAURY 6, 2011
http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/txn/

FEDERAL JUDGE SENTENCES FARMERS BRANCH, TEXAS, MAN
TO MORE THAN 11 YEARS IN FEDERAL PRISON
ON CHILD PORNOGRAPHY CONVICTIONS

Defendant Had Absconded to Mexico Following His Indictment

DALLAS — Tommy Dale Daniel, 62, of Farmers Branch, Texas, who was convicted at trial in August on two counts of possession of child pornography, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Reed C. O’Connor to 135 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $150,000 in restitution, announced U.S. Attorney James T. Jacks of the Northern District of Texas.

In April 2007, a federal grand jury in Dallas returned a one-count indictment against Daniel charging him with possession of child pornography. An arrest warrant was issued but case agents learned that Daniel had sold his house, forwarded his mail and absconded. Nearly three years later, in March 2010, Daniel crossed the border from Mexico to San Ysidro, California. After advising Border Patrol agents about a possible outstanding warrant, Daniel was arrested and transported to the Northern District of Texas. The government later superseded the indictment by adding a second count of possession of child pornography and a notice of forfeiture. The government presented testimony at trial that when Daniel returned to the U.S., he told agents that he’d rather be in prison than in Mexico.

In late May 2006, while executing a search warrant in a computer-related investigation at Daniel’s home in Farmers Branch, Texas, a detective with the Fort Worth Police Department discovered images of child pornography. The detective seized several computers from Daniel and, after a forensic examination, determined that Daniel had more than 700 images of child pornography on his hard drives.

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 (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Fort Worth Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Aisha Saleem and Jason Schall prosecuted.

###