Gregg County Man Sentenced for Child Pornography Offenses

TYLER, TX—A 55-year-old Kilgore, Texas man has been sentenced to federal prison for child pornography violations in the Eastern District of Texas announced U.S. Attorney John M. Bales today.

Ronnie Ben Chappell pleaded guilty on June 23, 2010, to possession of child pornography and was sentenced to 36 months in federal prison today by U.S. District Judge Leonard E. Davis.

According to information presented in court, on Dec. 12, 2009, Chappell consented to a search of his laptop computer after being identified as having used his credit card to purchase child pornography over the Internet. An analysis of the computer revealed approximately 75 images of child pornography, some of which depicted children less than 12 years of age engaged in sadistic or masochistic conduct. Chappell was indicted by a federal grand jury on Mar. 3, 2010.

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

This case was investigated by the FBI, the Kilgore Police Department, and the Longview Police Department’s Cyber Crimes unit and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher T. Tortorice.