8-19-04 - A 32-year-old Sherman man has been sentenced to 121 months in federal prison for receiving child pornography through the Internet. Michael Shain Bittick was sentenced Wednesday by United States District Judge Richard Schell.

Bittick was also ordered to have no unsupervised contact with children, to have no access to a computer or Internet service without supervision and to provide a DNA sample to law enforcement authorities.

According to court documents, between November 2002 and may 2003, Bittick knowingly received computer files containing images of persons under the age of 18 engaging in sexually explicit conduct. Additionally, Bittick possessed a computer hard drive containing images, received via the Internet, of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct in violation of federal law.

Matthew D. Orwig, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas, praised the diligent work of the investigators and encouraged citizens to be ever vigilant in the fight against child pornography and to immediately report persons suspected of possessing or trading in child pornography, "Its not just an image, it is a child that has been exploited in the worst way. This office will do everything possible to protect children from sexual exploitation."

The United States Secret Service and the Grayson County Sheriff's Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ernest Gonzalez prosecuted the case.