70-year-old West Texas man sentenced to 24 months in federal prison on child pornography conviction

LUBBOCK, Texas — A 70-year-old West Texas man was sentenced Friday to 24 months in federal prison following his guilty plea in August 2015 to an indictment charging one count of access with intent to view child pornography.

This sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) investigated this case.

As noted in the Nov. 20 sentencing hearing, Murdock, an ex-Marine, suffered injuries while serving in the line of duty in Vietnam. He must surrender to the Bureau of Prisons Dec. 31.

According to plea documents filed in the case, John Everette Murdock, of Lubbock, Texas, used a computer to access, with intent to view, various images of child pornography.  He used file-sharing software to search for material that was likely to result in his access to child pornography, which he viewed and then deleted. Law enforcement seized that computer and hard drive during the execution of a search warrant at his residence in late August 2014.

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

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 2,300 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative and more than 1,000 victims identified or rescued.

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. From outside the U.S. and Canada, callers should dial 802-872-6199. Hearing impaired users can call TTY 802-872-6196. 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.