LUBBOCK, Texas - Larry Richie Fields, 45, of Wingate, Texas, appeared today in federal court before U.S. Magistrate Judge Nancy M. Koenig and pleaded guilty to one count of transportation of child pornography. Fields, who has been in federal custody since his arrest in January on related charges, faces a maximum statutory penalty of not less than five years and up to 20 years in federal prison, a $250,000 fine, and a lifetime of supervised release. Sentencing will be set at a later date. Acting U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas made the announcement today.
According to documents filed in the case, on Oct. 25, 2014, Fields used the Internet to transport two images of child pornography using an online social networking service. Over a period of years, beginning no later than 2012, Fields used various social networking services and online storage services to post and store images depicting minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct. Fields used multiple usernames to trade, collect, transport, and receive 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."
The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); the Dallas Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force; the Texas Department of Public Safety, Criminal Investigations Division; the Taylor County Sheriff’s Office; and the San Angelo Police Department, Special Operations Division. 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
