On Tuesday, a Lamar County jury convicted Sammy Eugene Evans, 70, of thirty counts of Possession of Child Pornography, according to First Assistant District Attorney Benjamin I. Kaminar.
“Early in 2022, law enforcement officers discovered large volumes of child pornography being downloaded and shared from a residence in Reno,” said Kaminar. “After obtaining a search warrant for the house, investigators seized multiple electronic devices from Sammy Evans containing hundreds of photos and videos of child pornography.”
The jury was presented with evidence of the material recovered from Evans’ computers and hard drives, including graphic video of a young child being raped. One detective involved testified that Evans’ activity drew attention from statewide investigators due to the amount of extreme and violent material being both downloaded from and shared with others.
The defendant took the stand in his own defense and admitted that he was downloading child pornography.
“The defendant tried to present himself as a vigilante who was identifying child abusers and exposing them on the dark web,” said Assistant District Attorney Nick Stallings. “The jury quickly saw through his story and held him accountable.”
The jury of seven men and five women deliberated for approximately 20 minutes before finding Evans guilty of two counts of Possession with Intent to Promote Child Pornography and 28 counts of Possession of Child Pornography.
During the punishment phase, jurors were presented with evidence of Evans’ previous conviction for Injury to a Child in Dallas County and being required to attend sex offender treatment. After 15 minutes of deliberation, the jury returned the maximum sentence on each count, as well as a $10,000 fine on each. Judge Wes Tidwell ordered the sentences to run consecutively for a total of three hundred twenty years in prison and a total fine of $300,000.
“Today, our citizens held Sammy Evans accountable for distributing vile filth in our community,” Lamar County District Attorney Gary Young said. “We especially appreciate the hard work of Investigator Lee McMillian of the Collin County Sheriff’s Office and Special Agents Chuck Cannon and Aric Hagy of the Texas Department of Public Safety.”
The case was tried in the 6th District Court before Judge Wes Tidwell. Benjamin Kaminar and Nick Stallings prosecuted the case on behalf of the State. Evans was represented by Clay Johnson.
–
Like and follow MyParisTexas.com on Facebook – Reporting local news in Paris and Lamar County, Texas.
