West Texas man sentenced to 14 years in federal prison for receiving child pornography

ABILENE, Texas — A west Texas man was sentenced Thursday by U.S. District Judge Jorge A. Solis to 14 years in federal prison following his guilty plea in April to receiving child pornography.

U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas announced this sentence.  U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the Abilene Police Department investigated this case.

According to documents filed in the case, in July 2013, Steven Edward Robb, 59, of Abilene, Texas, knowingly received two video files depicting minor females engaging in sexually explicit conduct.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven M. Sucsy of the U.S. Attorney's Office in Lubbock, 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.