HOUSTON FATHER INDICTED FOR PRODUCING, DISTRIBUTING AND POSSESSING CHILD PORNOGRAPHY

(HOUSTON) - DJ Christopher Lowe has been transferred into federal custody and ordered held without bond pending trial on charges of producing, distributing and possessing child pornography, United States Attorney José Angel Moreno announced today.

Lowe, 36, who had been in state custody on related state charges since August 2010, was transferred into federal custody on March 7, 2011, to face federal child pornography charges contained in an eight-count indictment. The indictment was returned on Feb. 23, 2011. Today, after being advised that Lowe had waived his right to a detention hearing, United States Magistrate Judge Nancy Johnson ordered that Lowe remain in federal custody without bond pending trial.

Lowe is charged in an eight-count indictment with producing child pornography as far back as 2009, distributing child pornography as of June 2010 and possessing child pornography as recently as Aug. 13, 2010. The indictment alleges that Lowe exploited six different children in order to produce child pornography.

The charges against Lowe are the result of an investigation conducted by members of the Innocent Images Unit of the Houston FBI, which focuses its attention on investigating offenses involving the exploitation of children via the Internet.
 
Lowe faces a mandatory minimum statutory sentence of 15 years imprisonment up to a maximum of 30 years for producing child pornography. The distribution of child pornography carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years up to 20 years imprisonment. Possession of child pornography is punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Additionally, each charge is punishable by a $250,000 fine. If convicted, upon completion of any prison term imposed, Lowe faces a maximum of life on supervised release during which the court can impose a number of special conditions designed to protect the children and prohibit the use of the Internet.

Lowe had been in state custody in Fort Bend county since Aug. 13, 2010.

This case, being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sherri L. Zack, 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. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices, 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.

An indictment is an accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence.
A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.

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