Lancaster Man Who Admitted Downloading and Sharing Child Pornography Files is Sentenced to Eight Years in Federal Prison

DALLAS—Terry Don Jackson, 55, of Lancaster, Texas, who pleaded guilty in January 2012 to one count of transporting and shipping child pornography, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Jorge A. Solis to 96 months federal prison, to be followed by a 10-year term of supervised release, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas. Jackson must surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on October 17, 2012

According to documents filed in the case, Jackson admitted using the Internet and peer-to-peer file-sharing software to share and transmit images of child pornography to undercover agents on at least four separate occasions in 2010. When FBI agents executed a federal search warrant at his home in March 2011, they seized his computer which he used to facilitate his possession, receipt, and distribution of child pornography. When interviewed, Jackson admitted that he has downloaded and shared approximately 800-1,000 files of child pornography, including images of children as young as 8 to 10 years old, engaged in sexual acts, and that he had approximately 100 “friends” with whom he was sharing files. He admitted knowing that some of the images and videos included images of prepubescent minors and material that portrayed sadistic and/or masochistic conduct.

This case 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 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 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.”

The investigation was conducted by the FBI and the Plano, Texas Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lisa J. Miller was in charge of the prosecution.