East Texas man pleads guilty to producing child pornography

BEAUMONT, Texas — An East Texas man pleaded guilty Thursday to producing child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney John M. Bales, Eastern District of Texas.

This case is being investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), along with the Texas police departments of Beaumont, Grand Prairie and Pearland.

Keith Dwayne Marks Jr., 20, pleaded guilty Sept. 3 to producing child pornography before U.S. Magistrate Judge Zack Hawthorn. Marks was indicted by a federal grand jury June 4.

According to information presented in court, on May 21, 2014, law enforcement officers in Grand Prairie were notified by a school nurse that a 10-year-old student had come to the nurse’s office feeling ill after receiving a photo on an instant messaging app of a male’s genitals. The student disclosed she had been communicating with the male through several instant messaging and Internet video chats, and that she knew him as Keith Marks from Beaumont. It was later determined that Marks was a registered sex offender convicted June 3, 2013 for possessing child pornography in Jefferson County, Texas.

On Sep. 3, 2014, a search warrant was executed at Marks’s Beaumont residence. During the search, law enforcement officers discovered images and a video containing child pornography. Further investigation enabled law enforcement officers to locate and identity a 13 year-old child in the photos living in the Houston area. The child confirmed Marks had coerced him into engaging in sexually explicit conduct while filming such conduct with a cellular phone.

Marks faces a minimum of 15 years and up to 30 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not been set.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Randall L. Fluke and Marisa Miller, Eastern District of Texas, are prosecuting this case.

This investigation was conducted under HSI’s Operation Predator, an international initiative to protect children from sexual predators. Since the launch of Operation Predator in 2003, HSI has arrested more than 12,000 individuals for crimes against children, including the production and distribution of online child pornography, traveling overseas for sex with minors, and sex trafficking of children. In fiscal year 2014, more than 2,300 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative and more than 1,000 victims identified or rescued.

HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators. From outside the U.S. and Canada, callers should dial 802-872-6199. Hearing impaired users can call TTY 802-872-6196. Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, via its toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-THE-LOST.

For additional information about wanted suspected child predators, download HSI’s Operation Predator smartphone app or visit the online suspect alerts page. HSI is a founding member and current chair of the Virtual Global Taskforce, an international alliance of law enforcement agencies and private industry sector partners working together to prevent and deter online child sexual abuse.