Bridgewater man pleads guilty to possessing child porn

SIOUX FALLS — US Attorney Brendan Johnson announced Friday that Kevin Clent Houston, 44, of Bridgewater, appeared before U.S. Magistrate John E. Simko and pleaded guilty to an indictment that charged Houston with possession of child pornography.

The maximum penalty upon conviction is 10 years of imprisonment and a $250,000 fine.

On Aug. 19, 2009, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Houston’s residence in Bridgewater and seized two of his computers. A forensic examination of each computer showed the presence of hundreds of images of child pornography. Houston has admitted his guilt for possessing the images of child pornography.

The investigation was conducted by the Department of Homeland Security, Office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey C. Clapper.

A presentence investigation was ordered, and a sentencing date has not yet been set. The defendant was remanded to the custody of the U.S. marshal pending sentencing.

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 the U.S. attorney’s 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, visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

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