The Record Newspapers - Hometown News For Orange County, Texas

A 34-year-old Port Neches man has been sentenced to federal prison for child pornography violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney John M. Bales today. Jeremiah Paul Selman pleaded guilty on Mar. 21, to possession of child pornography and was sentenced to 78 months in federal prison today by U.S. District Judge Marcia Crone.

According to information presented in court, on Oct. 26, 2011, federal officials executed a search warrant at Selman’s residence in Port Neches. A computer was seized during the search and found to contain more than 600 images of child pornography. Some of the material included prepubescent children under the age of 12 engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Selman was indicted by a federal grand jury on Jan. 10, and charged with child pornography violations.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Beaumont Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher T. Tortorice.