MARSHALL (KYTX) – A 54-year-old Gilmer, Texas man, now living in Tyler, Texas, has been sentenced to federal prison for child pornography violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney John M. Bales today.
Patrick Edward Wornick pleaded guilty on June 1, 2012, to possession of child pornography and was sentenced to 80 months in federal prison on Aug. 20, 2012, by U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap. Wornick was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $1,000.
According to information presented in court, on Oct. 6, 2011, law enforcement officers executed a federal search warrant at Wornick's Gilmer residence for suspected child pornography after images were reported to being uploaded to an Internet website from Wornick's internet provider address. During the investigation, wornick admitted to downloading child pornography over the internet and subsequently gave permission for the search of his computer. A forensic analysis of the computer revealed 600 images of child pornography, some of which depicted prepubescent minors under 12 years of age engaged in sadistic or masochistic conduct.
This case was 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.
This case was investigated by the Longview Police Department's Cyber Crimes Unit and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher T. Tortorice and Jim Middleton.
