Baytown Resident Heads to Prison for Multiple Child Pornography Crimes

HOUSTON – A 50-year-old man from Baytown has been ordered to federal prison for possession, receipt and distribution of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan Patrick. Marlin Louis Carman, of Baytown, pleaded guilty Feb. 16, 2018.

Today, U.S. District Judge Sim Lake sentenced him to 120 each for the charges, respectively. The sentences will run concurrently. Carman was further ordered to pay $15,300 special assessments and will serve 10 years on supervised release following completion of his prison term, during which time he will have to comply with numerous requirements designed to restrict his access to children and the internet. He will also be ordered to register as a sex offender.

Carman first came to the attention of law enforcement in September 2013 after multiple images of child pornography were found associated with his online email account. At the conclusion of the investigation, authorities discovered Carman was communicating  with an email account holder in New York  to obtain child pornography and later conducted a search of his residence, phone and email accounts, leading to the discovery of 3,090 videos and 13,519 images. Some of the images are of known victims identified through the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Carman admitted ownership of the child pornography as well as the phone and email account he used to obtain it.  

At the time of his plea, he admitted to using email to communicate with other individuals to search for, download and obtain child pornography. He also admitted to distributing the child pornography through his online account. 

Following the plea hearing, Judge Lake revoked Carman’s bond and ordered him into custody where he will remain pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

The FBI conducted the investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie N. Searle is prosecuting the case, which was brought as 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 the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."