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September 4, 2019San Antonio, TX, United StatesChild Exploitation

South Texas jury convicts San Antonio man of possessing child pornography

SAN ANTONIO — A jury on Wednesday convicted a San Antonio man of possessing child pornography.

This guilty verdict was announced by U.S. Attorney John F. Bash, Western District of Texas. This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).  

Jeffrey Clinton Michalik, 44, from San Antonio, is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 9 by Senior U.S. District Judge David A. Ezra.

According to court documents, evidence presented at trial revealed that five images of child pornography were downloaded from a website in Switzerland using the defendant’s secure IP address assigned to his house. HSI special agents executed a federal search warrant for child pornography at Michalik’s house. Michalik admitted viewing child pornography on a laptop computer and provided agents with consent to search that computer. The laptop computer contained more than 2,500 images and 112 videos depicting children engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Most of the child pornography files depicted children under the age of 12, including children as young as three years old.

Michalik, who now faces up to 20 years in federal prison following his conviction, was placed into U.S. Marshals Service custody.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracey Thompson, Western District of Texas, is prosecuting 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 19,000 individuals for crimes against children, including the production and distribution of online child exploitation material, traveling overseas for sex with minors, and sex trafficking of children. In fiscal year 2018, more than 3,000 (3,191) child predators were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative and more than 850 (859) 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 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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