Southeast Texas man sentenced to more than 12 years in prison for distributing child pornography

HOUSTON – A southeast Texas man was sentenced Wednesday to 12 years and seven months in federal prison for distributing child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson, Southern District of Texas. The investigation was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Larry James Kramer, 38, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison to 151 months in prison. After he completes his prison term, he is further ordered to a lifetime of supervised release and sex offender registration. Kramer pleaded guilty to the charges Jan. 13.

The investigation began in October 2008 when undercover special agents discovered Kramer trading child pornography on a publicly accessible website. Images posted by Kramer contained girls posed in a lewd and lascivious manner. Additionally, in a chat discovered by law enforcement, Kramer discussed his love of 14-year-old girls and what he referred to as "jailbait."

In January 2010, HSI special agents executed a federal search warrant at Kramer's residence. He then admitted he traded child pornography images with someone about a month before. Kramer indicated there would be child pornography images on his computer and on DVDs next to his computer.

A forensic analysis of Kramer's computer and DVDs revealed 5,188 child pornography images and 143 child pornography videos. They involved pre-pubescent minors engaged in sexually explicit and sadistic acts.

Kramer was allowed to remain on bond and voluntarily surrender to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Sherri Zack and former Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Demitrius Bivens, Southern District of Texas, prosecuted the case.

This investigation is part of HSI's Operation Predator, a nationwide initiative to identify, investigate and arrest those who sexually exploit children, and the Department of Justice's Project Safe Childhood, which marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children using the Internet.

As part of Operation Predator, HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-347-2423 or via its online tip form. Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, at 1-800-843-5678 or http://www.cybertipline.com.