Jury Convicts San Antonio Man of Federal Child Pornography Charges

A federal jury convicted a San Antonio man late yesterday afternoon of production, receipt, possession and distribution of child pornography announced Acting United States Attorney Richard L. Durbin, Jr., and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Special Agent in Charge Christopher Combs, San Antonio Division.

As a result, 39-year-old Carl Wade Bailes faces a statutory maximum of 120 years in federal prison.

According to court records and trial testimony, undercover FBI agents in September 2012 discovered numerous files depicting child pornography available for download from a peer-to-peer file sharing program on the Internet.  Further investigation identified Bailes as the person responsible for making the child pornography available through the use of his personal computer.  On October 22, 2012, FBI agents seized his computer.  A subsequent forensics examination of the computer revealed that Bailes had deleted child pornography from his computer including 157 files available for download on September 20, 2012, and 50 files available for download on October 4, 2012.  During the investigation, authorities downloaded 31 of those files prior to their deletion.  Testimony also revealed that agents were able to recover evidence that Bailes produced images depicting the sexual abuse of two minor females, ages 15 and 6.

Bailes, who remains in federal custody, is scheduled to be sentenced at on November 20, 2015, before Chief United States District Judge Fred Biery.

“The FBI is committed to protecting children in our community, who are among the most vulnerable and precious in our society,” stated Special Agent in Charge Christopher Combs, FBI San Antonio Division.

This joint investigation was conducted by the FBI and the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracy Thompson is prosecuting this case on behalf of the Government.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice.  Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, 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.