CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - A 46-year-old local man has been sentenced to prison for his conviction of distribution of child pornography, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Abe Martinez. Ronald Eugene Lowrey Jr. pleaded guilty July 6, 2017.
Today, U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzalez Ramos handed Lowrey a sentence of 90 months in federal prison. In handing down the sentence, Judge Ramos took into consideration the total number of images and videos of child pornography found in both Lowrey’s computer and external hard drive device. Additionally, the court considered Lowrey’s lack of criminal history and his compliance while out on bond pending sentencing. Lowrey will serve five years of supervised release following completion of his prison term, during which time he will have to comply with numerous requirements designed to restrict his access to children and the Internet and Lowrey will also be ordered to register as a sex offender.
Lowrey came to the attention of law enforcement when the Texas Attorney General’s Office conducted an investigation into a peer-to-peer file sharing network in 2014. Through that investigation, authorities identified a specific computer with suspected child pornography. Authorities later downloaded a total of eight such files that were being distributed via that device. The computer was later linked to Lowrey in Corpus Christi.
Law enforcement executed a search warrant at his residence, at which time he admitted to using the file sharing program and to viewing child pornography. A forensic examination of the items seized during execution of the search warrant revealed approximately 37 images and 246 videos of child pornography, including those that authorities had previously downloaded.
Lowrey was permitted to remain on bond and voluntarily surrender to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
Texas Attorney General’s Office, Corpus Christi Police Department’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and the FBI conducted the investigation.
This case, prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Elsa Salinas, was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices, and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
