Dallas-area man sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for possessing and receiving child pornography

FORT WORTH, Texas — A North Texas man was sentenced Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Terry R. Means to 30 years in federal prison and 10 years of supervised release for child pornography offenses.

This sentence was 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 Hurst (Texas) Police Department investigated this case.

Randy Ray Wesson, 29, from Hurst, Texas, pleaded guilty in February 2015 to one count of possessing and one count of receiving child pornography.

According to the complaint, the investigation began when a detective with the Hurst Police Department received information from the Dallas Police Department’s Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) unit regarding a Cybertip received from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC).  That referral indicated that a particular Instagram member had uploaded an image of child pornography through his server on June 7, 2014.  The investigation revealed that Wesson was the owner of that account.

Officers with the Hurst Police Department executed a state search warrant at Wesson’s home on Nov. 18, 2014, in an effort to search for and seize evidence of child pornography.  Wesson was present during the search.  A forensic examination revealed that Wesson’s desktop computer contained files visually depicting minors, including a prepubescent minor, engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

In addition, according to the filed factual resume, on Feb. 9, 2014, Wesson used the internet and Instagram to receive visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

Assistant U.S. Attorney A. Saleem, 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 14,000 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 2015, nearly 2,400 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.

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