North Texas lawyer sentenced to 3 years for possessing child pornography

TEXARKANA, Texas — A 65-year-old Double Oak, Texas, lawyer was sentenced on Tuesday to three years in federal prison for child pornography violations following an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

According to information presented in court, on Aug. 9, 2007, law enforcement officers executed a federal search warrant at Kleinkauf's office in Flower Mound, Texas, and seized Kleinkauf's personal computer and related computer equipment. A forensic examination of the seized items was conducted and more than 250 images of child pornography were found. Some of the images discovered depicted prepubescent minors under the age of 12 engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Some images found were considered sadistic or masochistic. Kleinkauf was indicted by a federal grand jury on Jan. 14, 2010 and charged with child pornography violations. He later pleaded guilty.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Terri Hagan and Mandy Griffith, Eastern District of Texas, prosecuted this case and U.S. Attorney John M. Bales from the Eastern District of Texas announced Kleinkauf's sentence.

This investigation was part of Operation Predator, a nationwide ICE initiative to protect children from sexual predators, including those who travel overseas for sex with minors, Internet child pornographers, criminal alien sex offenders, and child sex traffickers.

ICE encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-DHS-2ICE. This hotline is staffed around the clock by investigators.

Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, at 1-800-843-5678 or http://www.cybertipline.com.