East Texas man sentenced for producing child pornography

TYLER, Texas — A 51-year-old man from east Texas was sentenced Tuesday to 15 years in federal prison for child exploitation violations, announced U.S. Attorney John M. Bales, Eastern District of Texas. This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the Harrison County Sheriff's Office.

Mitchell Duane Porter pleaded guilty Jan. 11 to producing child pornography and was sentenced to 180 months in federal prison June 5 by U.S. District Judge Leonard E. Davis.

According to information presented in court, on Aug. 26, 2011, a federal search warrant was executed at Porter's residence in Longview, Texas. Several computers, cameras, and other forms of digital media and media storage devices were seized during the search. A forensic analysis of the seized items revealed over a thousand child pornography images. Porter had taken eight of those photos. Some of the images depicted prepubescent children under the age of 12 years engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Some of the images involved the actual commission of a sex act. A federal grand jury returned an indictment Sep. 21, 2011 charging Porter with federal violations.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher T. Tortorice, Eastern District of Texas, prosecuted this case.

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, at 1-800-843-5678 or http://www.cybertipline.com.