Houston Man Lands in Federal Prison in Child Pornography Case

HOUSTON—Christopher Clark Pollett, 64, of Houston, has been sentenced to 78 months in federal prison for possession of child pornography, United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson announced today. Pollett was indicted January 12, 2011, and entered a guilty plea to one count of possession of child pornography before U.S. District Judge Lee Rosenthal on November 22, 2011.

Today, Judge Rosenthal also ordered him to serve the rest of his life on supervised release upon completion of his prison term. He will have to pay a total of $21,000 in restitution to three victims, as well as a $7,800 fine, and will be required to register as a sex offender. In handing down the sentence today, Judge Rosenthal stated that the victims in the images and videos are real children who have been sexually tortured, and consumers of this material like the defendant are the reason for their suffering as his consumption creates a demand for the material.

The investigation—conducted by the FBI Innocent Images Task Force, which includes members of the Harris County Sheriff’s Office—further revealed that Pollett was employed by Neighborhood Center Inc., a non-profit organization dedicated to after school programs and community development in southwest Houston.

The investigation into Pollett began when an officer was able, on several occasions, to download multiple images and videos of child pornography from Pollett which were made available to after Pollett placed them in the “shared” folder on his computer. These images included children under the age of 12 being sexually violated by adults, in positions which caused their genitalia to be displayed in a lewd/lascivious manner and being penetrated by a foreign object. Evidence showed that there were several computers in the home when the FBI executed a federal search warrant on June 17, 2010. In addition to the computer media found in his home, Pollett had 8mm film reels, books, and binders that contained images of naked minors. The examination of the items found revealed more than 17,000 digital images and approximately 400 videos which contained child pornography.

Pollett has been in custody since his arrest where he will remain, pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prison facility to be determined in the near future.

The case, prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sherri L. Zack, 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.”