Tarrant County Man Sentenced to 160 Months in Federal Prison on Federal Child Pornography Conviction
Defendant Also Ordered to Pay a $20,000 Fine

FORT WORTH, TX—Michael R. Stanley, 50, of Bedford, Texas, was sentenced this morning in federal court in Fort Worth, Texas, by U.S. District Judge John McBryde, to 160 months in federal prison and fined $20,000, following his guilty plea in August 2012 to a one-count indictment charging transporting of a visual depiction of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct. Judge McBryde also ordered that Stanley serve a five-year term of supervised release following his incarceration. Today’s announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

According to documents filed in the case, an FBI agent working in an undercover capacity to investigate the distribution of child pornography through peer-to-peer file sharing networks, entered Stanley’s shared directories, and downloaded images of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. A later forensic examination of Stanley’s computer and external hard drive revealed videos and images of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Stanley admitted that he used his computer to possess “sadistic” images of prepubescent children engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

The 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; Assistant U.S. Attorney Aisha Saleem was in charge of the prosecution.