United States Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña
Northern District of Texas

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2011
http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/txn/

LUBBOCK MAN ADMITS POSSESSING CHILD PORNOGRAPHY

LUBBOCK, Texas — Cyrus Patrick Yazdani, 25, of Lubbock, Texas, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings to one count of possessing child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas. Yazdani, who is on bond, faces a maximum statutory sentence of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and a lifetime of supervised release. Judge Cummings ordered a presentence investigation report with sentencing to be set after the completion of that report.

Yazdani admitted that on June 22, 2011, he possessed a thumb drive that contained images of child pornography that he had downloaded from the Internet.

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 investigation is being conducted by the Lubbock Police Department’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and the Department of Homeland Security. Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven M. Sucsy of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Lubbock, Texas, is in charge of the prosecution.

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