MABANK, Texas — A Mabank man has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison on child pornography charges.
MABANK, Texas — A Mabank man has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison on child pornography charges.
62-year-old Noel Guest of Mabank, Texas, was sentenced earlier this month to 240 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle.
In November 2016, Guest pled guilty to transportation and shipment of child pornography and has been in custody since May 2016.
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents were investigating a specialized peer-to-peer file sharing program which functions as a closed network where users choose who to invite into their network, similar to many social media platforms, according to a factual resume filed in the case.
There, investigators say Guest chatted with "like-minded" individuals on the P2P network where child pornography was shared and traded — with Guest making available approximately 4,344 files of child pornography.
On May 13, 2016, a search warrant was executed at Guest's home in Mabank, Texas, where agents seized several electronic devices and, upon forensic examination, revealed 602 images of child pornography and two videos of child pornography.
The Plano Police Department assisted in the investigation.
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in 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 leverages federal, state and local resources to better investigate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children. Project Safe Childhood also prioritizes identifying and rescuing 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.”