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Press Release

NW Houston man gets 30 years for multiple charges involving the sexual exploitation of children

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Texas

HOUSTON – A 27-year-old Jersey Village resident has been ordered to prison for the sexual exploitation of children as well as receipt, distribution and possession of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

Andrew Jeffrey Swope pleaded guilty Jan. 27, 2022. 

Today, U.S. District Judge Andrew S. Hanen ordered him to serve 360 months in federal prison. Restitution will be determined at a later date. Swope must following completion of his prison term. During that time, he will have to comply with numerous requirements designed to restrict his access to children and the internet. Swope will also be ordered to register as a sex offender.

“We must protect our most vulnerable victims – the children - from sexual exploitation,” said Hamdani. “No amount of prison or restitution can make these victims whole but lengthy prison sentences, like the one in this case, send a strong message to these despicable offenders that our law enforcement partners will spend as much time as necessary to bring them to justice.”

The investigation revealed Swope was communicating in a chat room on KiK which was dedicated to the receipt and distribution of child pornography. Swope was the owner of a chat room where he posted numerous images of child pornography. In this room, Swope also said he had been abusing a minor male from the time the boy was six until he was 10 years old. 

Authorities later executed a search warrant at Swope’s residence in Jersey Village.

There, Swope answered the door holding a firearm. Law enforcement disarmed him, but he fled. He then attempted to dispose of a smartphone which contained child pornography images and videos depicting abuse of two minor children, among other things.

Swope produced a total of 311 images and 48 videos of two minor victims. He also possessed 4,625 images and 1,533 videos of child pornography.  

Swope has been and will remained in custody since. He will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

FBI Houston conducted the investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Sherri L. Zack is prosecuting the case, which was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative the Department of Justice (DOJ) launched in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section leads PSC, which marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children and identifies and rescues victims. For more information about PSC, please visit DOJ’s PSC page. For more information about internet safety education, please visit the resources link on that page.

Updated January 23, 2023

Topic
Project Safe Childhood