Smith County Man Sentenced for Child Porn

TYLER — A 62-year-old Tyler man has been sentenced to federal prison for child pornography violations Wednesday. William Robert Pate pleaded guilty on Aug. 16 to possession of child pornography and was sentenced to 70 months in federal prison. According to information presented in court, on Mar. 26, law enforcement investigators executed a search warrant at Pate’s home for suspected child pornography after images were reported as being uploaded to an Internet website from Pate’s IP address. During the investigation, Pate admitted to downloading child pornography over the internet and gave permission for the search of his computers. A forensic analysis of the computer revealed approximately 97 images and 7 videos of child pornography, some of which depicted children less than 12 years of age engaged in sadistic or masochistic conduct. Pate was indicted by a federal grand jury on Apr. 8, 2010.