2 West Texas men face up to 20 years in federal prison after pleading guilty in separate cases to possessing prepubescent child pornography

ABILENE, Texas — In unrelated cases, two West Texas residents, both pleaded guilty Tuesday to federal child pornography offenses involving prepubescent minors.

These guilty pleas were announced by U.S. Attorney John Parker, Northern District of Texas.  U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Abilene Police Department investigated both cases.

David Scott Fikani, 61, from Abilene, who remains on bond, pleaded guilty to a one-count indictment charging possession of prepubescent child pornography.  According to plea documents filed in the case, Fikani used the computer at his residence to search the Internet for images and videos depicting minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct.  In the course of these searches, Fikani located, downloaded and viewed numerous images and videos constituting child pornography.  Some of those images involved prepubescent minors.

Michael Cleo Ivy, 36, also from Abilene and who is also on bond, pleaded guilty to possessing prepubescent child pornography. He was indicted in April 2015 on one count of receiving child pornography and one count of possessing prepubescent child pornography.  He too used the computer at his residence to search for images and videos of child pornography.  In the course of those searches, he also located, downloaded and viewed numerous images and videos constituting child pornography.  Some of those images involved prepubescent minors.

Each defendant faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.  Sentencing dates will be set at a later date.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven M. Sucsy, Northern District of Texas, is in charge of the prosecutions.

This investigation was conducted under HSI's Operation Predator, an international initiative to protect children from sexual predators. Since the launch of Operation Predator in 2003, HSI has arrested more than 12,000 individuals for crimes against children, including the production and distribution of online child pornography, traveling overseas for sex with minors, and sex trafficking of children. In fiscal year 2014, more than 2,000 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative.

HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators. Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, via its toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-THE-LOST.

For additional information about wanted suspected child predators, download HSI's Operation Predator smartphone app or visit the online suspect alerts page.

HSI is a founding member and current chair of the Virtual Global Taskforce, an international alliance of law enforcement agencies and private industry sector partners working together to prevent and deter online child sexual abuse.