Houston Area Architect Charged with Producing and Possessing Child Pornography

HOUSTON—John Robert Dossey, 62, charged with producing and possessing child pornography, has been ordered detained without bond pending trial after a lengthy detention hearing, United States Attorney José Angel Moreno announced today. Dossey was charged with producing and possessing child pornography in a two-count indictment returned by a Houston grand jury on March 4, 2010. Dossey, a Houston area architect, has been in federal custody since his arrest.

Today, following a hearing and the presentation of testimony in support of the government’s motion to detain Dossey without bond, United States Magistrate Judge Frances Stacy granted the government’s motion finding that Dossey did present a danger to the community. Dossey has pleaded not guilty to the child pornography charges and trial is set before United States District Judge David Hittner on May 11, 2010.

The court’s decision is grounded on testimony received during a hearing which began yesterday and concluded today about a March 25, 2009, contact by law enforcement with Dossey, then in the company of a 16-year-old female, and allegations that Dossey was paying this minor and another minor, identified later, to engage in various sex acts with him and to allow him to take sexually explicit photographs of them. The court also heard testimony that images found on one of Dossey’s computers, seized pursuant to the execution of search warrants at Dossey’s home and office, included child pornography as well as photographs of Dossey engaged in sexual relations with what appear to be other as yet unidentified minor females.

If convicted of producing child pornography, Dossey faces no less than 15 years' and up to 30 years' imprisonment. Possession of child pornography carries a maximum sentence, upon conviction, of 10 years' imprisonment. Each offense also carries a maximum fine of $250,000. Dossey also faces five years to a maximum of life on supervised release during which the court can impose a number of special conditions designed to protect children.

This case 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, 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.

The federal charges brought against Dossey are the result of an investigation by the FBI Innocence Lost Task Force, which includes members of both the FBI and the Houston Police Department. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sherri L. Zack.

An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence.

A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until he is convicted through due process of law.