Houston Man Detained on Child Pornography Charges
| U.S. Attorney’s Office July 12, 2013 |
HOUSTON—Roger Dean Matice, 71, of Houston, has been ordered into custody on charges of possession and distribution of child pornography, United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson announced today.
Matice was indicted on June 19, 2013. Today, U.S. Magistrate Judge George C. Hanks, Jr. ordered him detained pending further criminal proceedings.
The investigation revealed Matice was allegedly making child pornography available to others through the use of peer-to-peer software over the Internet. A task force officer chatted with Matice online and allegedly received images of child pornography from him during those interactions. The chats and downloads were traced to both Matice’s place of business and his home, according to the allegations.
Search warrants were issued for both locations, at which time computers were seized and analyzed. According to court records, more than 22,500 images and 470 videos containing child pornography were found. These images allegedly included children under 12 being sexually violated by adults, children under 12 in positions that caused their genitalia to be displayed in a lewd/lascivious manner, and children being penetrated by a foreign object.
Matice faces a minimum of five and up to 20 years’ imprisonment for distribution of child pornography, as well as a maximum of 10 years in prison for possession of child pornography. Both charges also include a possible $250,000 fine upon conviction.
The charge was the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI Innocent Images Task Force which includes members of the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.
This case, prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sherri L. Zack, 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 the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “Resources.”
An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.