Two Get Lengthy Federal Prison Sentences for Distributing Child Pornography
| U.S. Attorney’s Office November 12, 2013 |
FORT WORTH, TX—Latona E. Long, 27, of Greenville, Texas, and Michael M. Bodie, 41, of North Richland Hills, Texas, were sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Terry R. Means to 120 months and 108 months, respectively, following their guilty pleas in June 2013 to distribution of child pornography. Bodie was arrested in February 2013, and Long was arrested the following month on related charges outlined in criminal complaints; they have been in custody since that time. 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, in February 2013, FBI agents executed a search warrant at Bodie’s home, regarding his use of a Yahoo e-mail account that was being used to send and receive images of child pornography. Bodie admitted that he did use that account to send and receive child pornography and that he had corresponded via Yahoo e-mail with a person, L.L., now known to be Long.
In February 2013, FBI agents and task force officers met with Long at her home regarding her use of a Yahoo e-mail account that was used to send and receive child pornography. Long also said that she had corresponded via Yahoo Instant Messenger with a person she knew as M.B., now known as Bodie, and that during their communications, she sent Bodie an image of child pornography.
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative, which was launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorney’s 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 identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/ and click on the tab “Resources.”
The investigation was conducted by the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Aisha Saleem prosecuted.