Southeast Texas man sentenced to more than 8 years in prison for possessing child pornography
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas— A local man was sentenced Thursday to 97 months in prison following his conviction for possessing, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson, Southern District of Texas.
The joint investigation was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Corpus Christi Police Department – Internet Crimes against Children Task Force.
Terry Lee Clark, 48, was sentenced Feb. 26 to eight years, one month in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo. Clark’s prison sentence will be immediately followed by a life term of supervised release and registration as a sex offender. Clark pleaded guilty Oct. 31, 2014.
In July 2014, authorities received an anonymous tip and contacted Clark. He gave them permission to search his residence, where a computer was found in his bedroom with child pornography on the screen. The computer and several media storage devices were seized and ultimately revealed several images and videos containing child pornography.
Clark acknowledged downloading images of child pornography onto his computer from several different websites and having a sexual interest in children.
As part of his plea, Clark admitted to possessing more than five million pornographic images. Of those, approximately 47,000 contained child pornography involving pre-pubescent females, some under the age of 12, engaging in sexually explicit conduct with adult males. He also admitted to possessing more than 17,000 pornographic videos, of which nearly 400 contained child pornography depicting pre-pubescent females engaging in sexually explicit conduct with adult males.
"No one should ever be allowed to use the permanent record of a child’s sexual exploitation for their personal gratification” said Special Agent in Charge Brian M. Moskowitz of HSI in Houston. “The defendant in this case used tens of thousands of them, but that’s over now thanks to the great work of everyone involved in the investigation and prosecution of this case.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Hugo R. Martinez, Southern District of Texas, prosecuted the 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.
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