LUBBOCK, TX—Scott Brandon Hutcheson, 37, of Lubbock, Texas, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings to one count of transportation of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

Hutcheson faces a statutory penalty of not less than five years or more than 20 years in federal prison, up to a $250,000 fine, and up to a lifetime of supervised release. Judge Cummings ordered a presentence investigation report with a sentencing date to be set after the completion of that report. Hutcheson remains on bond.

According to the factual resume filed in the case, in January 2014, Hutcheson used his computer to send an image of child pornography to the wife of a childhood classmate of his. The image depicted the recipient’s son, age four or five, eating an ice cream cone. The image, however, had been modified to make it appear the child was engaged in sexually explicit conduct. The child’s name was also displayed across the top of the image. Hutcheson sent the image, under the name of a third party, with the message:

A friend of mine asked me to send you this, and to inform you that it has been re-blogged onto NAMBLA (North American Boy Love Association) sponsored websites. He said that you would understand that filth is an aesthetic.

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 case was investigated by the Lubbock Police Department and the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven M. Sucsy is prosecuting.