Dallas man pleads guilty to possessing prepubescent child pornography; faces up to 20 years in federal prison

DALLAS — A Dallas man pleaded guilty Tuesday to possessing prepubescent child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

According to documents filed in the case, law enforcement received information from the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Cyber Crimes Center identifying an offender in the Dallas area. The investigation led law enforcement to secure and execute a search warrant at the residence of Donald Record, 52, of Dallas, on March 6.

Record pleaded guilty May 20 to an Information charging one count of possession of prepubescent child pornography. He admitted that he used his laptop computer to trade images of child pornography on the Internet, and that he looked at child pornography when he was at his home in Dallas and at work at Southern Methodist University. He admitted his age preference was 8 to 10 year olds. He further admitted that he had about 100 images and one video of child pornography in his email account that he had received from others.

Record faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in federal prison, a $250,000 fine and a lifetime of supervised release. He will remain on bond pending sentencing, which is set for Sept. 3 before U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) HSI conducted this investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Camille Sparks, Northern District of Texas, is prosecuting 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 10,000 individuals for crimes against children, including producing and distributing online child pornography, traveling overseas for sex with minors, and sex trafficking children. In fiscal year 2013, 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.