U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Texas issued the following announcement on Jan 23.
A Mesquite educator was sentenced today to 14 years in federal prison for child exploitation, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Erin Nealy Cox.
55-year-old James Earle Cude – who previously served as North Mesquite High School’s band director – pleaded guilty in August to receipt of child pornography.
In plea papers, he admitted he’d used the instant messaging app Kik to download images and videos of the sexual exploitation of minors, including a video of a young boy being raped by an adult man.
At his sentencing hearing, agents testified that Mr. Cude had used various apps to initiate chats with dozens of underage teens, requesting lewd photos and proposing sexual meetups.
Mr. Cude was arrested in February at a coffee shop, after exchanging explicit messages with an individual he believed was a 13-year-old boy. Unbeknownst to the defendant, his messages were actually sent to an undercover agent. He later admitted he’d enticed the boy there for sexual contact.
The Collin County Sheriff’s Office, Dallas Police Department, and Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Camille Sparks prosecuted the case. U.S. District Judge Samuel A. Lindsay handed down the sentence.
Original source can be found here.
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