Northeast Texas Man Sentenced For Distribution Of Child Pornography

The Eastern District of Texas sentenced a 32-year-old Bowie County, Texas, man to prison for distribution of child pornography, according to U.S. Attorney Stephen J. Cox.

Troy Dewayne Daniels pleaded guilty on August 6, 2020, to the distribution of child pornography and was sentenced to 210 months in federal prison today by U.S. District Judge Robert W. Schroeder III. Judge Schroeder also ordered Daniels to pay restitution to his victims and to register as a sex offender.

According to information presented in court, in October 2019, Daniels used social media apps to communicate with an undercover law enforcement officer. During the conversation, Daniels described his progress in grooming a female child for sexual exploitation, including stating that he was “hoping” to go “[a]ll the way” with her. Daniel admitted that he had been looking at pictures and videos of younger girls “for a while.” Daniels then sent the undercover officer an image of child pornography, claiming that the prepubescent female child depicted looked like the child he had been grooming. Daniels did so in exchange for nonpornographic pictures of the undercover officer’s (fictional) daughter. 

Several days later, Daniels reached out to the undercover officer and asked if he could “play” with the officer’s (fictional) daughter on Snapchat. In November 2019, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Daniels’s home. Inside, officers found electronic devices containing more than 600 images of child pornography. The photos found depicted prepubescent minors, sadistic or masochistic abuse or other depictions of violence, and descriptions of the sexual exploitation of infants and toddlers.

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 prosecuted this case. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s 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, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan R. Hornok, investigated this case.