Grand Jury Indicts Dallas Man on Multiple Charges of Child Exploitation

BROWNSVILLE, Texas – A federal grand jury in Brownsville has indicted a 64-year-old man for child exploitation crimes that allegedly occurred in Honduras, Mexico and Texas, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Abe Martinez.

A federal grand jury returned a 12-count superseding indictment against Donald Frederic Bollinger, of Dallas, today. He was previously indicted Sept. 19, 2017, and has been in custody since his arrest shortly thereafter. He is expected to make his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Morgan on the new charges on Oct. 26, 2017.

The charges include allegations that Bollinger engaged in illicit sexual activity in a foreign place (Honduras and Mexico), travelled to a foreign place with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, conspired to transport a minor across international boundaries with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, failed to register as a sex offender, conspired to engage in alien smuggling and committed a felony involving a minor while being registered as a sex offender.

The indictment alleges that between February 2012 and March 2014, Bollinger travelled from Dallas to Honduras to engage in illicit sexual conduct with boys under the age of 18. Thereafter, Bollinger allegedly conspired to have an individual under the age of 18 transported to the United States with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity. During this time period, Bollinger also allegedly travelled to Honduras by aircraft and used a cell phone to entice or coerce an individual he believed was 15 years old to engage in sexual activity, according to the charges. Bollinger allegedly travelled through South Texas to Mexico to engage in illicit sexual conduct between March and April 2016. Bollinger, a registered sex offender, also failed to update his sex offender registration when he travelled to Mexico in March 2016, according to the indictment.

Bollinger faces a minimum of 10 years and up to life imprisonment for conspiring to transport a minor across international borders with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity and enticement of a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity. For each of the five counts of engaging in illicit sexual conduct in foreign places and one count of traveling with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity Bollinger faces up to 30 years in prison. He also faces up to 20 years in prison for enticement of a minor to travel to engage in illicit sexual activity.

Bollinger also faces penalties for engaging in alien smuggling and for failing to update his sex offender registration status before traveling internationally. These charges include sentences of up to 10 years for failure to register and for conspiring to smuggle undocumented aliens into the United States as well as a five- year sentence for encouraging an undocumented alien to enter the United States illegally. In addition, Bollinger faces another mandatory minimum of 10 years in addition to any other sentence imposed for committing the crimes while a registered sex offender.

Each charge also carries a possible $250,000 maximum fine upon each conviction. 

Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) - Rio Grande Valley Child Exploitation Task Force conducted the investigation with the assistance of HSI - Dallas division.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ana Cano and Jason Corley are prosecuting the case, which 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 the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."