Tarrant County Man, Charged with Possessing Child Pornography, is Ordered Detained Pending Trial

FORT WORTH, TX—Following a hearing this morning, U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffrey L. Cureton ordered that Kelly M. Stapleton, 47, of Azle, Texas, who is charged in a federal indictment with one count of possessing child pornography, remain in federal custody pending trial, announced U.S. Attorney James T. Jacks, of the Northern District of Texas. Trial is set for November 22, 2010, before U.S. District Judge John McBryde.

According to the indictment, in September 2005, Stapleton possessed images and videos of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

An indictment is an accusation by a federal grand jury, and a defendant is entitled to the presumption of innocence unless proven guilty. If convicted, however, Stapleton faces a maximum statutory sentence of 10 years in prison, a lifetime of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.

This case 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 United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s 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 http://www.justice.gov/psc/.

The case is being investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex Lewis.