Denton County man sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for child pornography violations

SHERMAN, Texas – A Denton County man has been sentenced to federal prison for child pornography violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Damien M. Diggs.

James Buck Briggs, 49, of The Colony, pleaded guilty to two counts of distributing child pornography and was sentenced to 240 months in federal prison today by U.S. District Judge Amos Mazzant.

According to public information, in December 2021, an undercover law enforcement officer encountered Briggs in an online chat room dedicated to the sexual abuse of children.  Briggs and the undercover officer began a chat which resulted in Briggs sending the officer a video depicting child pornography involving a very young female victim.  The undercover officer was able to trace the IP address to Briggs’ residence in The Colony and a search warrant was executed.  A search of Briggs’ cellular phone revealed hundreds of images which contained child pornography.  Briggs was indicted by a federal grand jury on Jan. 20, 2022.

This case is 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 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.justice.gov/psc.

This case was investigated by the FBI’s Frisco Field Office and the Plano Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Maureen Smith, Lesley Brooks and Marisa Miller.

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