She found a memory card hidden in the dirty laundry. It landed her husband in prison
A 38-year-old Texas man received a 40-year sentence to federal prison Thursday for producing and possessing child pornography – because of a memory card his wife found in a pile of dirty laundry.
James Kelly Hilton, of Spring, Texas, a suburb of Houston, pleaded guilty in August and was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Alfred H. Bennet on Thursday, prosecutors said in a news release.
The mother of a victim pictured in some of the photos stored on the card turned Hilton in and fled to Oklahoma to be with family after finding the images and videos, according to the news release. The Houston Chronicle reported that the woman was Hilton’s wife, who uncovered the pornography after finding an SD card in with a pile of the family’s laundry.
In all, 981 images and five videos were found on the card, including several of Hilton “sexually violating her daughter,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office news release.
Authorities also seized a cell phone upon arresting Hilton. It contained 444 additional images of child pornography, seven of which pictured the same victim, according to the release.
Hilton was sentenced to 10 years for possessing the porn and 30 years for the production charge. The sentences will run consecutively, according to the release.
Hilton has also been ordered to pay $62,500 in restitution to multiple victims, according to the court release.
Spring and the surrounding area have seen several cases of alleged child pornography in recent months. In July, 36-year-old Spring resident Austin Flores was charged with possession of child pornography and invasive visual recording after he was allegedly caught filming up customers’ skirts at a store in the neighboring community of The Woodlands, according to KPRC-TV.
Humble Independent School District police officer Jeffrey Warren Clark was arrested in August after authorities found thousands of sexually graphic images of minors in his home, according to KHOU-TV.
This story was originally published November 16, 2017 at 2:15 PM with the headline "She found a memory card hidden in the dirty laundry. It landed her husband in prison."