Band Instructor Guilty Of Federal Child Exploitation

U.S. Attorney Damien M. Diggs announced that a Texarkana man has pleaded guilty to a child exploitation violation in the Eastern District of Texas.

Brandon Neil Sams, 48, pleaded guilty on March 19, 2024, to coercion and enticement of a minor before U.S. Magistrate Judge James Boone Baxter.

According to court documents, while serving as a band instructor at Texas High in Texarkana. Sams engaged in repeated attempts to coerce and entice several of his students to engage in sexual activity. Sams admitted to engaging in sexual conduct with several minor victims, all of whom were his students at Texas High. Sams would communicate with the students on social media and messaging applications to persuade, induce, entice, and coerce them to participate in sexual activity.

In September 2023, a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Sams with federal child exploitation violations. He faces up to life in federal prison. The maximum statutory sentence prescribed by Congress is provided here for information purposes, as the court will determine the sentencing based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. The judge will schedule a sentencing hearing after completing 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 locate better, 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 www.justice.gov/psc.

The Department of Homeland Security-Homeland Security Investigations and the Texarkana Independent School District investigated this case, which is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Austin Wells.