Registered child sex offender from Galveston-area sentenced to 15 years in prison for downloading nearly 700 child pornography images

GALVESTON, Texas – A registered sex offender from the Galveston-area with prior child pornography-related convictions was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison July 7 for downloading nearly 700 child pornography images following an investigation conducted by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Galveston and the Pearland Police Department.

Timothy Alan Fortenberry, a 40-year-old resident of Alvin, was sentenced in the Southern District of Texas to 180 months in prison for receiving child pornography. He was also ordered to serve the rest of his life on supervised release following his release from prison, during which time, he will have to comply with numerous requirements designed to restrict his access to children and the internet.

Fortenberry was already a registered sex offender serving a term of supervised release for prior federal convictions for receipt and possession of child pornography. He will again have to register as a sex offender.

Fortenberry pleaded guilty to the charges Jan. 19.

The investigation began in June 2021 when law enforcement discovered an individual utilizing a computer sharing files of child pornography on BitTorrent, a peer-to-peer file sharing system. Authorities downloaded a torrent file which contained 694 images from Fortenberry’s computer and found images of minor females engaged sexually explicit conduct.

On July 12, 2021, law enforcement executed a search warrant at the residence where Fortenberry was living. He admitted that while on supervised release, he purchased a tablet which probation was not monitoring. He used it to download and view child pornography. He further admitted that after doing so, he would factory reset the tablet to erase all of the child pornography.

Fortenberry will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined soon.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly Ann Leo prosecuted the case.

For more news and information on HSI’s efforts to combat child exploitation and child pornography in Southeast Texas follow us on Twitter @HSIHouston.