Midland Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Possessing Child Porn

Today in Midland, U.S. District Judge Robert A. Junell sentenced 29–year-old Matthew Lee Weidner to 121 months in federal prison followed by ten years of supervised release for possessing child pornography announced Acting United States Attorney Richard L. Durbin, Jr., and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

According to court records, in March 2014, an investigator with the Texas Attorney General’s Office discovered more than a dozen videos containing child pornography available for download off the internet.  After downloading several of the files, investigators were able to identify the defendant’s residence and executed a search warrant at that location on May 8, 2014.  During the search, authorities seized a computer belonging to the defendant.  A subsequent forensics examination of the defendant’s computer revealed the presence of more than 600 images depicting child pornography produced by the defendant.

On January 12, 2015, Weidner pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography.  As part of the plea agreement, Weidner admitted to inappropriately touching several different children over the course of his lifetime, in addition to the possession of child pornography.

The case was investigated by the Texas Attorney General’s Office Cyber Crimes Unit and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Austin Berry.