U.S. Department
of Justice
|
|||||
|
|||||
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
MEDIA INQUIRIES: KATHY COLVIN |
||||
MONDAY, JULY 25, 2011
|
|
||||
AMARILLO, TEXAS, RESIDENT SENTENCED TO 20 YEARS IN FEDERAL PRISON In October 2010, agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) visited the Merideth residence in Amarillo to execute an arrest warrant for Merideth. During a consent search of Merideth and his computer and related storage media, child pornography was discovered. 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 U.S. 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-HSI, the U.S. Secret Service North Texas Electronic Crimes Task Force and the Saginaw Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex C. Lewis was in charge of the prosecution. ### |