Child Porn Sentence

TYLER — A Mineola man has been sentenced to 5 years in federal prison for child pornography violations. Steven M. Flaherty, 53, pleaded guilty on March 2 to possession of child pornography and was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Leonard E. Davis.

According to information presented in court, on July 24, 2009, law enforcement authorities executed a federal search warrant at Flaherty’s Mineola residence and seized his personal computer. A forensic examination of the computer and equipment resulted in the discovery of at least 50 digital images of children engaged in sexually explicit conduct. The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice.