The Department of Justice announced Wednesday that a man from Allen, Texas had been sentenced to prison for child exploitation. 57-year-old Clay Melton Denton is set to serve twenty years in federal prison for possessing, receiving, and distributing child pornography.
On June 11, 2021, Denton was found guilty on all charges against him. On January 5, U.S. District Judge Amos L. Mazzant III gave his official sentencing.
The judge ordered Denton to pay ten thousand dollars of restitution in accordance with the Amy, Vicky, and Andy Victim Assistance Act, established in 2018. The Act states, “If a defendant is convicted of trafficking in child pornography, then the court must order mandatory restitution in an amount that reflects the defendant’s relative role in the causal process that underlies the victim’s losses.”
In January and March of 2018, officers from Plano and Garland worked undercover, where, while on an online platform, the officers were sent child pornography. They tracked the material to determine that Denton was the computer user who distributed the child pornography, according to the Department of Justice.
On April 25, 2018, a search warrant was served at Denton’s residence. There, the FBI discovered massive amounts of technical equipment including cell phones, digital storage media, network area storage devices, hard drives, laptops, server racks, manuals, digital devices, and peripherals.
Over a year’s time analyzing all evidence found, the FBI collected “tens of thousands” of videos and pictures of child pornography. The team also uncovered evidence that the software in Denton’s home belonged to the same user who distributed the pornographic material to the undercover officers.
The FBI Dallas Child Exploitation Task Force, Garland Police Department, Plano Police Department, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Maureen Smith and Marissa Miller all collaborated to investigate the case.
