HOUSTON – A federal jury convicted Michael Harkless after a two-day trial in Galveston on charges related to child pornography.
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The 45-year-old Clear Lake Shores resident was found guilty of possession of child pornography and access with intent to view it, as announced by Acting U.S. Attorney John G.E. Marck.
Child pornography found on man’s laptops
The backstory:
During the investigation, authorities learned Harkless had been accessing child pornography since 2009.
Authorities executed a search warrant at his residence and uncovered two laptop computers hidden inside his bedroom closet. Forensic examination revealed about 14 sexually explicit videos of kids and nearly 2,000 images of child sexual abuse material.
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The U.S. Attorney’s Office said during the trial it was mentioned Harkless accessed child sexual abuse-related images on one of the computers before deleting them.
There was an attempt to argue the computers did not belong to Harkless, however, it was observed there were personal, identifying documents belonging to him on the device.
Harkless faces up to 10 years in prison and a possible $250,000 fine on each of the two counts of conviction.
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