BEAUMONT, Texas – A Silsbee man has pleaded responsible to federal baby pornography violations within the Jap District of Texas, US Lawyer Brit Featherston introduced in the present day.
Michael Joseph Fontenot, 50, pleaded responsible to possession of kid pornography in the present day earlier than US District Decide Marcia A. Crone.
Based on public info, Fontenot was present in possession of greater than 600 photographs of kid pornography, together with some photographs exhibiting a pre-adolescent minor partaking in sexual exercise.
Fontenot faces as much as 10 years in federal jail at sentencing. The utmost statutory sentence prescribed by Congress is offered right here for informational functions, because the sentence will likely be decided by the courtroom based mostly on advisory sentencing pointers and different authorized elements. A sentencing listening to will likely be scheduled after the US Probation Workplace completes a pre-sentence investigation.
This case is a part of Mission Secure Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in Might 2006 by the Division of Justice to fight the rising epidemic of kid sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the US Attorneys Places of work and the Little one Exploitation and Obscenity Part (CEOS), the Secure Childhood Mission brings collectively federal, state, and native sources to raised find, apprehend, and prosecute people who exploit kids on-line. , in addition to to determine and rescue victims. . For extra details about the Secure Childhood Mission, go to www.justice.gov/psc.
This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant US Lawyer Rachel Grove.