LUBBOCK, Texas - Justin Turcheck, 29, of Abilene, Texas, pleaded guilty this morning before U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings to one count of possession of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.
Turcheck, who is on bond, faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine. Judge Cummings ordered a presentence investigation report with a sentencing date to be set after the completion of that report.
Turcheck admitted that in mid-June 2012, he possessed an external hard drive that contained numerous images of child pornography.
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."
resources." U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Abilene Police Department, and the Air Force Office of Special Investigations investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven M. Sucsy of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Lubbock, Texas, is in charge of the prosecution.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
