Dallas Man Admits Transporting and Shipping Child Pornography
| U.S. Attorney’s Office December 13, 2011 |
DALLAS—Thomas Roussin, 46, of Dallas, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul D. Stickney today to one count of transporting and shipping child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas. He faces a maximum statutory sentence of not less than five years or more than 20 years in federal prison, a $250,000 fine and a lifetime of supervised release. Roussin remains on bond; sentencing is set for April 12, 2012, before U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle.
Law enforcement began investigating Roussin when an officer with the Plano Police Department, who was working undercover using a peer-to-peer file sharing network, discovered that Roussin was logged on and was allowing the undercover officer to view and download images of child pornography from his computer.
Shortly thereafter, special agents with the FBI executed a search warrant at Roussin’s home and seized several computers and various items of computer equipment. Roussin was home at the time and admitted that he had been a paid subscriber to the file sharing program for several years. He also admitted that he had approximately 30 “friends” with whom he trades images. Roussin admitted that his primary interest is viewing children in diapers, but he also has photos of nude children, which he conceded are child pornography.
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 U.S. 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 www.projectsafechildhood.gov
The investigation is being led by the FBI and the Plano Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Camille Sparks is in charge of the prosecution.