U.S. Department of Justice
United States Attorney
Northern District of Texas

1100 Commerce St., 3rd Fl.
Dallas, Texas 75242-1699

Telephone (214) 659-8600
Fax (214) 767-0978

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE DALLAS, TEXAS
CONTACT: 214/659-8600
www.usdoj.gov/usao/txn

JUNE 9, 2006

LUBBOCK MAN SENTENCED TO 21 MONTHSON OBSCENITY CONVICTION

United States Attorney Richard B. Roper announced today that Sam Reyes Tovar was sentenced this morning in Lubbock, Texas, by the Honorable Sam R. Cummings, United States District Judge, to 21 months imprisonment. Tovar, age 60, of Lubbock, pled guilty in March 2006 to one count of attempting to transfer obscene material to a minor. Judge Cummings also ordered that Tovar serve a three-year term of supervised release and register as a sex offender. Tovar must surrender to the Bureau of Prisons by July 14, 2006.

In documents filed in Court, Tovar admitted that he used Yahoo! Instant Messenger Service to chat with a person he believed to be a 15-year-old female. However, the person he was chatting with was an undercover agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, posing as a 15-year-old female to identify persons who may be making sexual advances to minors on the Internet. In the communications, Tovar expressed an interest in engaging in sexual activity with the purported minor, and on June 2, 2003, Tovar sent an obscene live video broadcast to the purported minor.

U.S. Attorney Roper commended the investigative efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Lubbock Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Steven M. Sucsy, of the Lubbock, Texas, United States Attorney's Office.