Dallas-area man sentenced to 25 years in federal prison for producing child pornography with 2-year-old girl

DALLAS — A 20-year-old Dallas-area man was sentenced Wednesday to 25 years in federal prison following his guilty plea in October 2014 to producing child pornography.

This sentence was announced by Acting U.S. Attorney John Parker, Northern District of Texas.  This case was investigated by the Mesquite (Texas) Police Department, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

According to plea documents filed in this case, a Mesquite detective began an investigation after receiving cybertips on April 8, 2014.  The detective determined that Jeremiah Chayse Gardiner, of Mesquite, Texas, uploaded images of child pornography to a social networking application called Tumblr.  On April 17, 2014, Mesquite detectives visited West Mesquite High School to speak with Gardiner and execute a search warrant on his cellphone.

Gardiner admitted uploading child pornography images to Tumblr; he further admitted inappropriately touching “Jane Doe #2,” when she was 3 years old.  Based on those admissions, the detectives obtained and executed an arrest warrant and search warrant for Gardiner’s residence, and Gardiner was taken into custody.

An examination of Gardiner’s cell phone revealed several images of child pornography, taken with Gardiner’s phone, depicting “Jane Doe,” a 2-year-old girl.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Camille Sparks, Northern District of Texas, prosecuted this case.

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.