North Texas photographer pleads guilty to sexually exploiting children
TYLER, Texas — A north Texas photographer pleaded guilty Thursday to child exploitation charges in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney John M. Bales.
Todd Fleming, 54, from McKinney, Texas, pleaded guilty Oct. 2 to sexually exploiting children before U.S. Magistrate Judge K. Nicole Mitchell.
According to information presented in court, from 1999 to 2007, Fleming coerced minors to engage in sexually explicit conduct to produce child pornography. Fleming was indicted by a federal grand jury April 17, 2013 and charged with child exploitation violations.
"This criminal case should serve as a wake-up call to all parents to regularly monitor their children's friends and Internet behavior, and to educate their children of the potential dangers of online predators," said David M. Marwell, special agent in charge of HSI Dallas. "For years, this school photographer assumed the online identities of many young girls to entice other girls to produce child pornography for him. At the same time, he groomed still other young girls to produce his own child pornography."
"Thank goodness that Todd Fleming will no longer be able to prey on unsuspecting children," said U.S. Attorney Bales. "Kudos to the investigative team who successfully brought Fleming to his well-deserved appointment with justice. And I agree with SAC Marwell – the most important takeaway from this case is the need for parental vigilance and communication with their children. For our part, we will continue to have zero tolerance for child pornographers."
Fleming faces a minimum of 15 years and up to 30 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not been set.
This case is being investigated by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Texas Department of Public Safety - Criminal Investigations Division and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathaniel C. Kummerfeld.
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 producing and distributing online child pornography, traveling overseas for sex with minors, and sex trafficking children. In fiscal year 2013, more than 2,000 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative.
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. 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.
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