Former Houston-area elementary teacher sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for producing child pornography

HOUSTON — A local Houston-area man was sentenced Tuesday to 15 years in federal prison following his conviction on two counts of producing child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson, Southern District of Texas.

This investigation was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Harris County (Texas) Precinct 4 Constables Office, and the Houston Metro Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, with the assistance of the Spring (Texas) Independent School District (ISD) Police Department.

Derrick Gossett, 34, from Humble, Texas, was sentenced May 26 by U.S. District Judge Lynn Hughes to 180 months in federal prison, which is to be followed by 180 months of supervised release. Gossett must also register as a sex offender. At the time of the offense, he was a music teacher at Anderson Elementary School in the Spring ISD. Gossett pleaded guilty to producing child pornography Aug. 4, 2014.

According to court records, Gossett used a Facebook profile he developed based on a former female student to solicit sexually explicit photographs that constituted child pornography from more than 150 young boys. Gossett regularly used images he received from victims to extort additional images/videos containing child pornography. Gossett used the biographical information of a former student to elicit the child pornography images/videos from his victims. He also created a fictitious woman "Katya" to communicate with and further manipulate the children. Victims have been identified throughout Texas, across the United States and in several foreign countries.

"While the Internet is a wonderful tool for connecting with others it can also be a very dangerous place, especially for children," said Magidson. "Adults, parents, older siblings and caregivers need to be vigilant in their efforts to protect our children online. We need to teach them about these dangers and what information should and should not be shared via the Internet."

After authorities executed a search warrant at Gossett's residence, they seized a laptop computer, several thumb drives, cell phones and digital cameras. One external portable hard drive, found in a lock box inside Gossett's residence, was forensically analyzed and contained hundreds of files with images depicting different young boys, ranging in age from 12 to 17 years old, and in various stages of undress.

Gossett will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Sherri L. Zack, Southern 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 10,000 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 2014, more than 2,300 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.

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.