Red River County Man Sentenced for Federal Crimes

TYLER, TX—A 37-year-old Bogata, Texas man has been sentenced for obscenity violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney John M. Bales today.

BENJAMIN DAVID CONRAD pleaded guilty on November 28, 2011 to importation or transportation of obscene materials and was sentenced yesterday to 12 months and one day in federal prison during a hearing before United States District Judge David Folsom.

According to information presented in court, on May 9, 2009, a search was performed at Conrad’s residence. Thirty-five pictures and 26 videos of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct were located on Conrad’s computer. At least one of the pictures appears to have been produced abroad, indicating that it was transported in interstate or foreign commerce and imported into the United States. Conrad acknowledged that he did knowingly transport in interstate commerce an obscene writing.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. 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 www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Longview Police Department Internet Crimes Against Children Unit, and the Bogata Police Department. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher T. Tortorice.