Child Pornography Lands Former Pastor in Prison

Stephens, Anderson & Cummings - Sex Abuse Attorneys - Representing the victim

A former Royse City minister was sentenced Monday to 17 years in federal prison after pleading guilty in March to possessing and sending child pornography from his computer to others via the Internet.

Steve Richardson, 36, former pastor of the First United Methodist Church in Royse City east of Dallas, was sentenced in Dallas by U.S. District Judge Sam A. Lindsay, who ordered him to serve a lifetime of supervised release and register as a sex offender, according to federal prosecutors.

Richardson, who is no longer a minister, has been in federal custody since his Sept. 24 arrest by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents who seized a computer containing images of child pornography from his church office, said Acting U.S. Attorney James T. Jacks.

He admitted possessing an external hard drive that contained more than 600 images of child pornography. The arrest came after an undercover investigation by a federal agent who communicated with Richardson over Google Hello, an Internet service that enables users to share photos via their computers.

Richardson, who used the identity "cowboyspades," admitted that he logged into his Google "Hello" account on Dec. 20, 2007, and sent an image of a minor. He pleaded guilty to one count of possessing child pornography and one count of transporting and shipping child pornography. He faced a maximum of 20 years on the transporting charge, 10 years on the possession charge and a $250,000 fine on each charge.

United Methodist officials suspended Richardson from his clerical duties after his arrest. He later surrendered his credentials after the Board of Ordained Ministry of the denominaton's North Texas Conference placed him on involuntary leave Dec. 1, according to Bishop W. Earl Bledsoe.