North Texas man sentenced to 20 years in federal prison on child pornography conviction

DALLAS — A north Texas man was sentenced Thursday to 20 years in federal prison to be followed by 10 years of supervised release.

Less than a week before the start of his trial last summer, Christian James Gieseke, 39, from Garland, Texas, pleaded guilty to one count of receiving child pornography.

U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas announced this sentence. The Garland Police Department and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) conducted this investigation.

According to the factual resume filed in the case, Gieseke admitted that sometime between Sept. 1, 2010 and June 7, 2012, while at his residence, he used a camera to produce images of Jane Doe 3 and/or Jane Doe 4 engaging in sexually explicit conduct while one or both was naked in the shower. He further admitted that he knew they were minors. He further admitted that he downloaded the images and viewed them on his laptop computer.

Gieseke also admitted that he produced, or attempted to produce, images and/or video of two other minor girls.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lisa J. Miller and Leigha Simonton, Northern District of Texas, prosecuted 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 10,000 individuals for crimes against children, including producing and distributing online child pornography, traveling overseas for sex with minors, and sex trafficking children. In fiscal year 2013, 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.