JERSEY VILLAGE – A 27-year-old Jersey Village resident has been sentenced to prison for the sexual exploitation of children as well as receipt, distribution and possession of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.
Andrew Jeffrey Swope pleaded guilty on Jan. 27, 2022.
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On Monday, U.S. District Judge Andrew S. Hanen ordered him to serve 360 months in federal prison. Restitution will be determined at a later date. Swope must also serve 30 years on supervised release following the completion of his prison term. During that time, he will have to comply with numerous requirements designed to restrict his access to children and the internet. Swope will also be ordered to register as a sex offender.
“We must protect our most vulnerable victims – the children - from sexual exploitation,” said Hamdani. “No amount of prison or restitution can make these victims whole but lengthy prison sentences, like the one in this case, send a strong message to these despicable offenders that our law enforcement partners will spend as much time as necessary to bring them to justice.”
During the investigation, authorities learned Swope was communicating in a chat room on Kik, which was dedicated to the receipt and distribution of child pornography. Swope was the owner of a chat room where he posted numerous images of child pornography. In this room, Swope also said he had been abusing a minor male from the time the boy was six until he was 10 years old.
Authorities later executed a search warrant at Swope’s residence in Jersey Village.
There, Swope answered the door holding a firearm. Law enforcement disarmed him, but he fled. He then attempted to dispose of a smartphone, which contained child pornography images and videos depicting the abuse of two minor children, among other things.
Swope produced a total of 311 images and 48 videos of two minor victims. He also possessed 4,625 images and 1,533 videos of child pornography.
Swope will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
FBI Houston conducted the investigation.