ABILENE, Texas — Michael Cleo Ivy, 37, of Abilene, Texas, was sentenced on Thursday, February 11, by Chief U.S. District Judge Jorge A. Solis to 121 months in federal prison, following his guilty plea in July 2015 to an indictment charging one count of possession of prepubescent child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.
Following sentencing, Judge Solis remanded Ivy, who had been on bond, to the custody of the U.S. Marshal.
According to documents filed in his case, Ivy used the computer at his residence to search for images and videos of child pornography, and in the course of those searches, he also located, downloaded, and viewed numerous images and videos constituting child pornography. Some of those images involved prepubescent minors.
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.”
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Abilene Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven M. Sucsy was in charge of the prosecution.
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