January 26, 2015

Lake Jackson Man Gets Five Years for Distributing Child Pornography

HOUSTON—Lake Jackson resident Bradley Beckerdite, 25, has been sentenced to federal prison following his convictions for distribution and possession of child pornography, United States Kenneth Magidson announced today. Beckerdite pleaded guilty May 12, 2014.

Today, U.S. District Judge Lynn Hughes, who accepted the guilty plea, handed Beckerdite a term of imprisonment of 60 months. He was further ordered to serve five years of supervised release following completion of that term. Beckerdite must also register as a sex offender.

Beckerdite was indicted on April 24, 2013, following an investigation conducted by the Houston FBI Child Exploitation Task Force. That investigation revealed that Beckerdite was making child pornography available to others through the use of peer-to-peer software over the Internet. A special agent downloaded an image of child pornography from the images/videos Beckerdite was making available online. The images included children under the age of 12 being sexually violated by adults and children under the age of 12 in positions which caused their genitalia to be displayed in a lewd/lascivious manner. Bondage involving children was also present on the defendant’s computer.

Law enforcement executed a search warrant on Sept. 6, 2012, at the home of a third party. Beckerdite used the Internet connection at that residence to receive and distribute child pornography in an attempt to avoid detection. The examination of the computer media ultimately obtained from Beckerdite revealed more than 11,000 digital images and approximately 145 videos which contained child pornography.

This case, prosecuted by Assistant U.S. 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.”