Mabank Man Sentenced In Child Porn Case
By CASEY KNAUPP
Staff Writer
A Mabank man was sentenced Tuesday to 17 years in federal prison for possessing and transporting child pornography.
Staff Writer
A Mabank man was sentenced Tuesday to 17 years in federal prison for possessing and transporting child pornography.
Harrison Jack Havens Jr., 56, who was arrested in New York by U.S. marshals a few days after he was indicted April 4, was convicted of one count of transporting and shipping child pornography and four counts of possessing materials involving minors engaged in explicit sexual conduct on June 7, 2005.
After a brief bench trial Nov. 14, he was found guilty of the charges by U.S. District Judge Leonard Davis. Havens, who worked as a waste treatment facility manager, was sentenced by Davis on Tuesday.
Sgt. Steve Ried Jr., an investigator for the Cyber Crimes Unit of the Texas Attorney General’s Office, testified earlier that on Jan. 15, 2005, America Online intercepted an e-mail containing child porn that was sent by Havens.
The illegal material was reported to the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children, which tipped off the attorney general’s office, he said.
On June 7, 2005, Ried and others from his office and the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant at Haven’s Mabank residence and discovered a “massive amount” of electronic items containing child pornography, including four computers, one laptop and a DVD player.
Assistant Attorney General Sarah Wannarka told the judge the evidence in the case was overwhelming and Havens had confessed to authorities that he transported the child pornography.
She said he possessed hundreds of images and videos of child pornography, involving children who were 3, 5, 10 and 12 years old.
She said people who collect and actively trade child pornography create a market for children to be raped, photographed and traded.
Defense attorney William “Bill” Bratton III, of Dallas, said the government’s evidence didn’t prove the images involved real people.
He said the evidence was insufficient to prove the charges against Havens.
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