Texas Man Sentenced to Decade for Child Pornography

BEAUMONT, Texas – The grim reaper of justice has met its mark in the case of Jason Ryan Bickham. A 32-year-old from Orange, Texas, has been sentenced to serve a decade behind bars for his sinister trade in child pornography.

Bickham, now branded a menace to society, pleaded guilty on Sep. 17, 2014, to the grotesque offense of possession of child pornography. Today, U.S. District Judge Thad Heartfield handed down a sentence of 120 months in federal prison for this heinous crime.

The case began when an ordinary citizen’s vigilance paid off. Bickham was alerted by a concerned member of the public that his cell phone harbored images of child pornography. With no qualms, Bickham granted permission to search his device, where police discovered numerous images and videos of the forbidden material.

On June 4, 2014, a federal grand jury indicted Bickham for his despicable actions, which have now culminated in one of the longest sentences handed down in the Eastern District of Texas. This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative to tackle child sexual exploitation and abuse launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006.

United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) have been at the forefront of this battle. Through Project Safe Childhood, they work tirelessly to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who prey on children online, while identifying and rescuing their victims.

This particular case was a collaborative effort between U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Orange Police Department, and the Beaumont Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Randall L. Fluke prosecuted the case with unwavering dedication. For more information on Project Safe Childhood, visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

RELATED: ICE Nabs Salvadoran Rapist in Md. Before Law Change

RELATED: Drug Kingpin Gets 19 Years: Mexican Cartel Link Exposed