Winkler County Newspaper Publisher Sentenced to 10 Years

United States Attorney Johnny Sutton announced that in Midland, 62-year-old Richard Ellsworth McLaughlin of Kermit, Texas, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Robert Junell to 10 years in federal prison for possession of child pornography. He was also ordered to serve 20 years of supervised release upon completion of his prison term.

On August 5, 2008, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from the Kermit Police Department, executed a search warrant at the Winker County News and the defendant’s Kermit home where computers and media devices were seized. A forensics examination of the computer devices revealed over 600 minutes of child pornography video in addition to many child pornography photographs. McLaughlin was thereafter arrested on August 7, 2008, and indicted by a federal grand jury on August 28, 2008. He pleaded guilty to the charges on September 24, 2008.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with assistance from the Kermit Police Department. It is being prosecuted for the government by Assistant United States Attorney Kerry Fleck.

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