Fort Worth man sentenced to 5 years in federal prison for possessing child pornography

FORT WORTH, Texas — A Fort Worth man was sentenced Tuesday by Senior U.S. District Judge Terry R. Means to five years in federal prison for possessing 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).

Jarrod Mayes, 31, who had been released on bond since his arrest in December 2015, was remanded into custody following the Aug. 23 sentencing hearing.

HSI Special agents executed a search warrant at Mayes’ home Dec. 17, 2015.  During execution of the search warrant, digital media were seized belonging to Mayes, including his iPhone.

According to documents filed in the case, Mayes admitted he first started using the KiK Messenger smartphone application (app) in 2009, and that was the first time he had observed child pornography.  He acknowledged that he had saved videos and images of child pornography in a hidden folder inside a calculator app on his cellphone.  He advised that he stored the images in this app because he did not want his wife to find them, and that when he deleted Kik from his cellphone, it would delete the images.  He also stated that when he reinstalled Kik, other users would not send him any child pornography until he posted images of child pornography.  A forensic review of his iPhone revealed three video files; Mayes knew the files depicted real minors, to include prepubescent minors, engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

Mayes pleaded guilty in April 2016 to an indictment charging one count of possessing child pornography.

Assistant U.S. Attorney A. Saleem, Northern District of Texas, was in charge of the prosecution.

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.