Gregg County Sex Offender Sentenced for Child Pornography Violations

TYLER, Texas – A 42-year-old Kilgore, Texas man has been sentenced to federal prison for child pornography violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney John M. Bales today.

Terry Drennen pleaded guilty on Dec. 2, 2014 to possession of child pornography and was sentenced to 180 months in federal prison today by U.S. District Judge Leonard Davis.

According to information presented in court, Drennen, a registered sex offender having been previously convicted of indecency with a child, was found to be in possession of material depicting the sexual exploitation of a child.  Drennen was indicted by a federal grand jury on June 19, 2014 and charged with child pornography violations.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. 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.

            This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Secret Service, the Rusk County Sheriff’s Office and the Orlando, Florida Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathaniel C. Kummerfeld.

####