East Texas man sentenced to nearly 4 years in prison for possessing child pornography

BEAUMONT, Texas — An east Texas man was sentenced Wednesday to nearly four years in federal prison for possessing child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney John M. Bales, Eastern District of Texas. The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Nederland Police Department, the Orange County Sheriff's Office, the U.S. Marshals Service, and the Jefferson County District Attorney's Office.

Donovan Ray Kendrick, 39, pleaded guilty June 12 to possessing child pornography and was sentenced Nov. 14 to 46 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Thad Heartfield.

According to court information, law enforcement officers and special agents executed a federal search warrant at Kendrick's residence in Nederland, Texas, in December 2010. A personal computer was seized during the search, which revealed eight images of child pornography. A forensic analysis done on the seized computer showed that the hard drive contained at least 34 images. At least one image included a prepubescent minor less than 12 years old.

This investigation was part of Operation Predator, a nationwide HSI initiative to protect children from sexual predators, including those who travel overseas for sex with minors, Internet child pornographers, criminal alien sex offenders and child sex traffickers. HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-DHS-2ICE 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 (1-800-843-5678).

HSI is a founding member and the U.S. representative 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.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher T. Tortorice, Southern District of Texas, prosecuted the case.