Longview Man Sentenced on Child Porn Charges

TYLER – A 36-year-old Longview man has been sentenced to federal prison for child pornography violations Tuesday in Tyler. Sterling William Blade pleaded guilty on June 23 to possession of child pornography and was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison. According to information presented in court, on Feb. 26, Blade was arrested for failing to register as a sex offender. Blade had been previously convicted of carnal knowledge of a juvenile in 1995 in Bienville Parish, Louisiana and was required to register with local authorities as a sex offender. During the arrest, officers retrieved Blade’s cellular phone and received consent to search the phone.

Analysis of the phone revealed that Blade had received several text messages with photo attachments containing child pornography. The search ultimately revealed that Blade had received 34 pictures of child pornography, and likely distributed those images via text messaging. Officers later located two DVDs in Blade’s home, which contained videos of child pornography. Some of the material depicted children less than 12 years of age engaged in sadistic or masochistic conduct. Blade was indicted by a federal grand jury on Apr. 7, 2010.