Sex offender guilty of child porn

TYLER – A Tyler man previously convicted of a child pornography violation, has pled guilty to possessing child pornography in the Eastern District of Texas, U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs announced Tuesday. John Matthew Emerson, 42, entered the guilty plea to possessing child pornography before U.S. Magistrate Judge K. Nicole Mitchell.

According to information presented in court, Emerson, while on supervised release for a prior conviction for possession of child pornography, was found in possession of a cellular phone containing child pornography. Emerson faces up to 20 years in federal prison at sentencing. The sentencing will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.

A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the U.S. Probation Office. This case is 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 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit here

This case is being investigated by the Department of Homeland Security-Homeland Security Investigations and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alan Jackson.