Former Dallas elementary school teacher sentenced to more than 10 years in federal prison on child pornography conviction

FORT WORTH, Texas — A former Dallas elementary school teacher was sentenced Friday to 121 months in federal prison following his guilty plea to receiving 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).

Mark Stutheit, 59, who was a teacher at Reinhardt Elementary School in Dallas at the time of the offense has been in custody since his arrest in June 2016.  He pleaded guilty in October 2016 to one count of receiving a visual depiction of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

According to documents filed in the case, in June 2016, an undercover officer with the Queensland Police Service (Brisbane, Queensland, Australia) and Stutheit exchanged emails about the sexual exploitation of children.

On June 23, 2016, HSI special agents executed a search warrant at Stutheit’s residence in Saginaw, Texas.  A forensic evaluation of evidence seized revealed numerous files containing child pornography on Stutheit’s computer and mobile devices.

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.

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.