North Texas woman admits allowing her husband to take pornographic photos/videos of her minor daughter

DALLAS - A former resident of Ennis, Texas, pleaded guilty on Tuesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul D. Stickney to a one-count felony Information charging permitting the production of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney James T. Jacks of the Northern District of Texas.

Sharon Lee Anderson, 38, and her husband, Buddy Anderson, 39, were arrested March 24 by special agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) on charges outlined in a federal criminal complaint. Law enforcement located the Andersons at a homeless shelter in Las Vegas where they had absconded after leaving their apartment in Ennis.

Sharon Anderson faces a statutory maximum sentence of not less than 15 years or more than 30 years in federal prison, a $250,000 fine, and a lifetime of supervised release. Sentencing is set for July 18 before U.S. District Judge David C. Godbey. Charges remain pending against Buddy Anderson; both remain in federal custody.

According to documents filed with the Court, between May 1999 and Dec. 11, 2003, Sharon Anderson knowingly permitted her husband, Buddy Anderson, to take sexually explicit photographs of her minor daughter. She further admitted that her daughter was between 4 and 8 years old when the photographs were taken, and that her husband used the photos later for his sexual arousal.

ICE HSI and the Ennis Police Department are investigating.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Camille Sparks and Lisa J. Miller, Northern District of Texas, are in charge of the prosecution.

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.