Former U.S. Army Sergeant Sentenced to Federal Prison

In El Paso today, 46–year-old former U.S. Army Sergeant 1st Class Michael Hall, Jr., was sentenced to four years in federal prison for possession of child pornography announced United States Attorney Richard L. Durbin, Jr., and Special Agent in Charge Waldemar Rodriguez of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in El Paso.

In addition to the prison term, United States District Judge Kathleen Cardone ordered that Hall be placed on supervised release for a period of five years after completing his prison term and to register as a sex offender.

On June 3, 2015, HSI Cyber Crimes Unit agents and El Paso County Sheriff’s deputies executed a federal search warrant at the defendant’s residence and seized various items including two laptop computers and various electronic media.  A forensic analysis of the seized items revealed the presence of 23,050 images and 22 videos which depict minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

On January 20, 2016, Hall pleaded guilty to one count of possession of child pornography. 

This case was investigated by HSI with assistance from the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office.  Assistant United States Attorney Rifian Newaz prosecuted this case on behalf of the Government.