Joshua James Holmstedt, Child Pornography, Texas 2019

Suburban Houston Man Gets 34 Years for Sexually Exploiting a Child

In a shocking case of child exploitation, Joshua James Holmstedt, a 41-year-old resident of New Caney, Texas, has been sentenced to 34 years in federal prison for producing and possessing child pornography.

According to the U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick, Holmstedt pleaded guilty to the charges on April 16, 2019. U.S. District Judge Andrew A. Hanen handed down the sentence, which includes 360 months for the production of child pornography and 120 months for the possession of child pornography. The sentences will run consecutively, resulting in a total of 34 years in prison.

Holmstedt was also ordered to serve 30 years on supervised release following his completion of his prison term. During this time, he will be required to comply with numerous restrictions designed to prevent him from accessing children and the internet. Additionally, Holmstedt will be required to register as a sex offender.

The investigation into Holmstedt's crimes began on July 17, 2017, when authorities in the District of Columbia posted an online message as part of an undercover investigation. The message was received by Holmstedt, who communicated with the undercover officer and sent images of himself holding up a specific number of fingers in front of a minor female victim's face.

Over the course of a few days, Holmstedt sent several images of the minor female as well as other images and videos of child pornography. One of the worst videos showed him digitally penetrating the minor female, who was only three years old at the time.

Based on information gathered during the investigation, local authorities were able to locate and identify the victim and another child mentioned in the images. Holmstedt was located on July 21, 2017, and indicated that he had destroyed the phone he used to create the images and communicate with the undercover officer.

The investigation was conducted by the District of Columbia Metropolitan Police Department - FBI Child Exploitation Task Force and the FBI Houston, with the assistance of the Montgomery County Constables' Office - Precinct Four.

Holmstedt is currently in custody and will be transferred to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility in the near future. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sherri L. Zack is prosecuting the case, which is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.

Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdtx/pr/suburban-houston-man-gets-34-years-sexually-exploiting-child