Dallas man sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for transporting and shipping child pornography
Defendant had more than 9,000 child pornography images and videos – many of infants and toddlers
DALLAS — A Dallas man was sentenced Thursday to 20 years in federal prison following his guilty plea in May to one count of transporting and shipping child pornography.
This sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas. This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Sherman (Texas) Police Department.
Andrew Berko, 45, has been in custody since his arrest in April on a related federal criminal complaint.
According to documents filed, this investigation began when a detective with the Sherman Police Department, who was investigating the sharing of child pornography on a file-sharing network called BitTorrent, identified 27 files matched to a law enforcement database as files containing child pornography. The files were linked to an Internet Protocol address later identified as Berko’s.
HSI special agents executed a federal search warrant at Berko’s residence March 31. A forensic analysis of his computer they seized revealed 8,190 images and 860 videos of child pornography, including more than 800 images and videos of infants and toddlers. Some of the images and videos Berko collected depicted sadistic and/or violent content.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Camille Sparks and Lori Walker 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.
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.
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