Baytown Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Child Pornography Charges

Dustin Shane Gentry, 29, a Baytown resident, pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography, United States Attorney Tim Johnson announced today.

Gentry pleaded guilty on Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2009, before U.S. Judge Lee Rosenthal, who accepted the guilty plea and set sentencing for March 30, 2010. The one-count indictment was returned by a federal grand jury in August 2009.

The federal charges brought against Gentry are the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI Innocent Images Squad, which was launched following a cyber tip provided by Yahoo! to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. When contacted by the FBI in 2007, Gentry confessed to possessing video and still images containing child pornography on his home computer which agents seized. A forensic examination of the computer resulted in the discovery of 135 images and 19 videos.

Gentry faces a maximum sentence of 10 years' imprisonment on the possession of child pornography charge and a maximum fine of $250,000 as a possible punishment. Upon completion of any prison term imposed, Gentry also faces a maximum of life on supervised release during which the court can impose a number of special conditions designed to protect children and prohibit the use of the Internet.

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. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices, 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 is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sherri L. Zack.