South Texas man receives maximum 30-year sentence for producing child pornography

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A local man was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison Monday following his conviction for producing child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson, Southern District of Texas.

This investigation was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the Corpus Christi Police Department's Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC).

Timothy Wayne Bailey, 38, pleaded guilty to the charge Jan. 22, and was sentenced April 15 to the maximum prison term allowed by law by Senior U.S. District Judge John D. Rainey.

"The sexual exploitation and abuse of a child is one of the most heinous acts imaginable," said Brian Moskowitz, special agent in charge of HSI Houston. "Our HSI special agents will continue to work with the U.S. Attorney's Office and our local law enforcement partners to protect our communities from sexual predators."

Bailey came to the attention of law enforcement through an undercover investigation when he was identified as the person who was distributing images of child pornography online. A search warrant executed at Bailey's home resulted in the discovery of several electronic storage devices that revealed images of child pornography. A forensic analysis of the images resulted in the discovery of Bailey's prior sexual abuse of a family member. The victim was interviewed and described more than four years of continuous sexual assault suffered at the hands of Bailey.

Bailey has been in custody since he was arrested Dec. 5, 2012. He will remain in custody pending his transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

This investigation was part of Operation Predator, a nationwide HSI 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. HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-347-2423 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, 1-800-843-5678.

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.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Lance Duke, Southern District of Texas, prosecuted this case.