LUBBOCK, Texas - Joshua I. Suter, 24, of San Angelo, Texas, was sentenced this morning by U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings to 97 months in federal prison following his guilty plea in July 2013 to one count of possession of child pornography. He has been in custody since his release was revoked earlier this month. The announcement was made today by U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.
According to documents filed in the case, while living in San Angelo, Suter owned a computer which he kept at his residence. That computer was connected to the Internet. In the course of using the Internet to search for depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, Suter downloaded and viewed numerous child pornography videos.
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative, which was launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals, who sexually exploit children, and identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/. For more information about internet safety education, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/ and click on the tab “resources."
The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, Goodfellow Air Force Base. Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven M. Sucsy prosecuted.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
