A man who apparently posed as a college soccer recruiterpleaded guilty this week to receiving child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Chad E. Meacham.
Michael Ansley Twing, 43, was charged via criminal complaint on May 18. He pleaded guilty to a criminal information charging receipt of child pornography before Magistrate Judge Jeffrey Cureton on Wednesday.
According to court documents, Mr. Twing already a registered sex offender acquired sexually explicit images of minor girls on his laptop. The files were downloaded via eMule, a file-sharing program similar to BitTorrent.
At a detention hearing, prosecutors introduced evidence showing that Mr. Twing had been posing as a recruiter for a local university under the name Michael Krogen. (There is no evidence of wrongdoing by the university, which is cooperating fully with the investigation.)
In his bedroom, agents recovered a note on university letterhead in which Mr. Twing, writing under his alias, claimed to be a recruiter. They also found a roster of high school soccer players and identified at least one text in which Mr. Twing asked a coach for contact info for a student.
Twing now faces up to 40 years in federal prison. His sentencing has been set for Oct. 21 before U.S. District Judge Reed C. OConnor in Fort Worth.
Mr. Twing is a 62 white male, approximately 195 pounds, with dark blonde hair, blue eyes, and glasses.
If you are aware of a minor who may have had inappropriate contact with Mr. Twing, also known as Michael Krogen and Christopher Michael Crogen, at a soccer tournament or elsewhere, please contact Crimestoppers at 817-469-TIPS (8477) orwww.469TIPS.com.
The U.S. Secret Services Dallas Field Office conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Texas Department of Public Safetys Hurst Special Investigations Unit, the Fort Worth Police Departments Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) and Sex Offender Investigations Units, the Grand Prairie Police Department, and the U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney A. Saleem is prosecuting the case.
Source: U.S. Secret Service