Lawson Hardrick, Child Pornography, California 2022

A California man, Lawson Hardrick, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for downloading child pornography.

According to a federal indictment, Hardrick, a former supervisory special agent with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, received videos of children as young as four and nine years old through a file-sharing program in 2008 through 2010.

Agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations conducted an investigation of persons using peer to peer file-sharing programs to make child pornography available to others.

The indictment was handed up by a federal grand jury sitting in San Diego in July 2012.

Upon release, Hardrick will be required to register as a sex offender.

Lawson Hardrick was found guilty by a federal jury in January of two counts of receipt of images of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, each a felony.

The verdicts followed a two-day trial before U.S. District Judge Marilyn L. Huff.

Hardrick, 58, was the assistant director for the Calexico ports of entry.

He was sentenced to 10 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release.

According to the evidence presented at trial, the defendant received videos of children as young as four and nine years old through a file-sharing program in 2008 through 2010.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdca/pr/retired-customs-and-border-protection-supervisor-sentenced-10-years-child-pornography