60-year-old Albert Ackley was arrested in March 2022 and pled guilty to the charges in August 2022.
Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Western District of Texas
ALPINE, Texas – A Valentine, Texas man was sentenced in federal court in Alpine last week to 20 years in prison and 15 years of supervised release for distributing child sexual abuse material.
According to court documents, Albert Douglas Ackley, 60, uploaded and shared ten files containing child sexual abuse material over a mobile messaging app. The files were flagged by the app and sent to the Internet Crimes Against Children database for law enforcement investigation. Agents executed a search warrant at Ackley’s residence, where they found multiple devices containing prepubescent child sexual abuse material. At the time of the investigation, Ackley had been teaching math to grades seven through 12 at a local public school.
Ackley was arrested March 15, 2022 and has remained in federal custody. He pleaded guilty on Aug. 12, 2022 to one count of distribution of child pornography.
“We will continue to vigorously prosecute those who distribute or create an illegal market for child pornography as they violate the sanctity and innocence of our children,” said U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza of the Western District of Texas. “We are grateful for our law enforcement partners, and to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, as we work together to protect our kids and hold these offenders accountable for the harm they cause in society.”
“This sentence shows that HSI special agents are laser focused on doing our part to bring to justice those who victimize children,” said Special Agent in Charge Francisco B. Burrola of the Homeland Security Investigations El Paso Division. “HSI is most appreciative of the collaborative partnership with the Texas Department of Public Safety that is a force multiplier to combat this horrific crime of child exploitation.”
HSI and the Texas Department of Public Safety investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Ellis prosecuted the case.
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 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and 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.justice.gov/psc.
