Houston Resident Heads to Prison for Multiple Child Pornography Charges

HOUSTON – A 28-year-old man from Houston has been ordered to prison for his convictions of distribution, receipt and possession of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick. Samier Patrick Clark pleaded guilty to all charges Nov, 1, 2017.

Today, U.S. District Judge David Hittner sentenced Clark to 151 months in prison. At the hearing, the court heard that the images and videos included children under the age of five and that more than 50 videos were longer than five minutes in length with some as long as 45 minutes. In handing down the sentence, the court noted that Clark had been engaged in this type of behavior for seven years. Clark will serve a minimum of 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.

Clark first came to the attention of law enforcement in September 2016 after multiple images of child pornography were found associated with his online account. Authorities discovered Clark used a peer-to-peer network to obtain child pornography and later conducted a search of his residence, leading to the discovery of 68 videos and 143 images. Some of the images are of known victims identified through the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. 

Clark admitted ownership of the child pornography as well as the online account and computer media he used to obtain it.  

At the time of his plea, Clark admitted to using peer-to-peer software to search for, download and obtain child pornography. He also admitted to distributing the child pornography through his online account. 

Clark was ordered into custody following his guilty plea 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."