LUBBOCK, Texas — Robert Mark Haugland, II, 25, of San Angelo, Texas, was sentenced today by Senior U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings to 10 years in federal prison, following his guilty plea in October 2015 to one count of transportation of child pornography. Today’s announcement was made by U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.
Judge Cummings remanded Haugland into custody at the conclusion of the sentencing hearing. Haugland had been on bond since his initial appearance on the charges in August 2015.
According to documents filed in his case, in approximately 2014, Haugland began using Kik, a social networking application, to communicate with various persons about child pornography and to transport and receive images of child pornography.
One such transaction occurred on July 9, 2014, when Haugland used his cell phone and Kik to send an image of prepubescent child pornography to another person.
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 Tom Green County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven M. Sucsy was in charge of the prosecution.
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