Denton County Sex Offender Sentenced for Child Exploitation Violations

SHERMAN, Texas – A Denton man has been sentenced to six years in federal prison for child exploitation violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Damien M. Diggs today. 

Michael Ray Guillory, 67, pleaded guilty to child exploitation violations and was sentenced to 72 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Amos L. Mazzant.

According to information presented in court, Guillory came to the attention of law enforcement when it was discovered that he was chatting with a 13-year-old child on an online social media platform.  The messages from Guillory were sexually charged and included descriptions of the sex acts Guillory wanted to perform on the child when they met in person.  In support of his interest, Guillory sent the child a number of pornographic images and videos, depicting the sex acts he described.  Through investigation, law enforcement determined that Guillory had been engaging in similar chats with other suspected minors.  Officers also discovered that Guillory is a registered sex offender in Denton County due to prior convictions for solicitation of a minor to commit sexual assault and possession of child pornography.

Guillory pleaded guilty to two counts of transferring obscene material to minors and was sentenced to 6 years of imprisonment on each count, to be served concurrently. 

“Through social media platforms, predators like this defendant have access to our children’s bedrooms from anywhere in the country,” said U.S. Attorney Damien M. Diggs.  “Repeat offenders like Mr. Guillory demonstrate an unwillingness or inability to stop committing these crimes, further contributing to the trauma already inflicted on child victims. Today’s sentence demonstrates the commitment of both state and federal law enforcement to make our children safer by ensuring that dangerous repeat offenders like Mr. Guillory are in prison where they belong.”

“This defendant preyed on innocent children without regard for the long-lasting harm his actions would cause,” said Lester R. Hayes Jr., Special Agent in Charge HSI Dallas. “HSI will never relent in our commitment to identifying and prosecuting those who exploit and victimize children.”  

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 Homeland Security Investigations, Denton Police Department, and West Jordan, Utah Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Marisa J. Miller.

###