Grapeland, Texas Man Guilty of Child Pornography Charges
Palestine ISD Substitute Teacher Faces up to 10 Years in Federal Prison

TYLER, TX—U.S. Attorney John M. Bales announced today that a 66-year-old Grapeland, Texas man has pleaded guilty to federal child pornography violations in the Eastern District of Texas.

ROBERT CARL SAMPSON pleaded guilty to an Information charging him with possession of material involving the sexual exploitation of minors today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Judith Guthrie.

According to information presented in court, in February 2008, Sampson, a substitute teacher for the Palestine Independent School District, brought several boxes of teaching aides to a fellow teacher, who discovered discs containing child pornography with the teaching materials.

This case is being 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.

Sampson faces up to 10 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not been set.

This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Palestine Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Baldwin.

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