North Texas man faces up to 30 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to producing child pornography

DALLAS — A north Texas man pleaded guilty in federal court Thursday to one count of producing child pornography.

This guilty plea was announced by Acting U.S. Attorney John Parker, Northern District of Texas.

Mesquite Police Department, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) investigated this case.

Jeremiah Chayse Gardiner, 20, from Mesquite, Texas, faces a statutory penalty of not less than 15 years or more than 30 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.  Sentencing is set for May 20.  Gardiner remains in federal custody.

According to plea documents filed in this case, an investigation into cybertips received April 8, 2014 led a detective with the Mesquite Police Department to determine that Gardiner uploaded images of child pornography to a social networking application called Tumblr. On April 17, detectives with the Mesquite Police Department visited West Mesquite High School to speak with Gardiner and execute a search warrant on his cellphone.

Gardiner admitted uploading images of child pornography to Tumblr, and he further admitted inappropriately touching “Jane Doe #2,” when she was 3 years old.  Based on those admissions, the detectives obtained and executed an arrest warrant and search warrant for Gardiner’s residence, and Gardiner was taken into custody.

An examination of Gardiner’s cell phone revealed several images of child pornography, taken with Gardiner’s phone, depicting “Jane Doe,” a 2-year-old girl.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Camille Sparks, Northern District of Texas, is 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 2,000 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative.

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. 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.