West Texas man sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for transporting child pornography

LUBBOCK, Texas — A West Texas man was sentenced Friday to 10 years in federal prison, following his guilty plea in October 2015 to one count of transporting child pornography.

This sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the Tom Green County Sheriff’s Office investigated this case.

Senior U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings remanded Robert Mark Haugland, II, 25, of San Angelo, Texas, into custody at the conclusion of the sentencing hearing.  Haugland had been on bond since his initial appearance on the charges in August 2015.

According to documents filed in his case, around 2014, Haugland began using Kik, a social networking application, to communicate with various persons about child pornography and to transport and receive images of child pornography.

One such transaction occurred July 9, 2014, when Haugland used his cell phone and Kik to send an image of prepubescent child pornography to another person.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven M. Sucsy, 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.