DALLAS—Timothy Rinehart, 35, of Dallas, pleaded guilty today before U.S. Magistrate Judge David L. Horan to a superseding indictment charging a multitude of child pornography offenses, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

Specifically, according to the factual resume filed in the case, (there is no plea agreement), Rinehart pleaded guilty to one count of production of child pornography, which carries a statutory penalty of not less than 25 years or more than 50 years in federal prison; one count of attempted transportation of child pornography, which carries a statutory penalty of not less than 15 years or more than 40 years in federal prison; one count of transportation of child pornography, which carries a statutory penalty of not less than 15 years or more than 40 years in federal prison; two counts of possession of child pornography, which carry a statutory penalty of not less than 10 years or more than 20 years in federal prison, per count; and one count of a registered sex offender committing a felony offense involving a minor, which carries a mandatory, statutory, consecutive 10-year penalty.

According to the Elements of the Offenses filed in the case, Rinehart faces a statutory penalty of at least 35 years of mandatory minimum imprisonment and up to 180 years in federal prison. The projected guideline sentence range, even with the acceptance of responsibility, will most likely be life imprisonment. A sentencing date, before U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle, has not been set.

According to court documents and the Stipulated Facts filed in this case, on August 15, 2006, in the Eastern District of Texas, Rinehart was sentenced to 51 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to one count of possession of child pornography.

In April 2012, Rinehart used John Doe, a four-year-old male minor, to engage in sexually explicit conduct and then used his cell phone to take photos of that conduct. In late May 2012, Rinehart used his computer, the Internet and peer-to-peer file sharing to share images of minor boys engaged in sexually explicit conduct. In early May 2013, Rinehart again used peer-to-peer file sharing to share images of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct. On October 5, 2012, Rinehart possessed a cell phone and an external hard drive that each contained images of minors involved in sexually explicit conduct.

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative, which was launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals, who sexually exploit children, and identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/ and click on the tab “resources.”

The FBI is investigating. Assistant U.S. Attorney Camille Sparks is in charge of the prosecution.