A New Boston, Texas, man accused of crimes involving child pornography entered pleas of not guilty Tuesday in a Texarkana federal court to transporting and possessing child pornography.
John Matthew Emerson, 35, appeared for arraignment on a two-count federal indictment Tuesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Caroline Craven in Texarkana's downtown federal building. After determining that Emerson lacks the means to hire his own lawyer, Craven appointed Longview, Texas, attorney Jason Cassel to represent Emerson.
Cassel entered pleas of not guilty on Emerson's behalf to transportation of child pornography and possession of child pornography. Assistant U.S. Attorney Marisa Miller filed a motion on behalf of the government seeking Emerson's incarceration while his case proceeds citing concern for public safety, concern the defendant might flee and noting the alleged offenses involve children.
Craven scheduled the case for a detention hearing Aug. 30, but that hearing was canceled in light of a waiver filed by Cassel on Emerson's behalf Aug. 29. Emerson remains behind bars.
According to count one of the indictment, handed down Aug. 15 in the Texarkana Division of the Eastern District of Texas and unsealed Aug. 28, Emerson transported a 19-second video, allegedly of a prepubescent girl performing a sexual act on a man, using a file hosting service for cloud storage and the Internet between approximately July 11, 2016, and July 13, 2016.
Count two of Emerson's indictment alleges that Emerson possessed a cellphone June 9, 2017, that contained photos and videos depicting the sexual exploitation of children. The images allegedly discovered on the cellphone include sexually suggestive photos of prepubescent boys in the nude and videos of prepubescent girls engaged in sexual acts with adult females.
The indictment includes notice of the government's intent to seek Emerson's forfeiture of three cellphones.
Should Emerson be convicted of count one, he faces five to 20 years in federal prison and a possible fine of up to $250,000. Should he have a prior state or federal conviction related to child pornography or the sexual abuse of a child, the possible term of imprisonment increases to 15 to 40 years.
If convicted of count two, Emerson faces up to 10 years in federal prison, a fine of up to $250,000, or both. However, if he is found to have possessed images involving a prepubescent minor or a minor who had not reached age 12, the maximum punishment increases to up to 20 years. If found guilty of count two and if found to have been previously convicted for an offense involving child pornography or the sexual abuse of a minor, a minimum punishment of 10 years is mandated.
Emerson's case is scheduled for jury selection Oct. 22 before U.S. District Judge Robert Schroeder III in Texarkana.