Conroe man hit with huge 60-year sentence

CONROE, TX -- A 41-year-old man has been ordered to federal prison for sexual exploitation of a child as well as distribution and possession of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick.

James Glenn Fulcher pleaded guilty Sept. 16, 2019.

At a hearing that concluded late today, the court heard evidence demonstrating a pattern of abuse which rendered Fulcher a repeat and dangerous sex offender. Two of the victim’s family members spoke at the hearing, each explaining their anger at what Fulcher did to their family and/or the betrayal they felt.

U.S. District Judge Lynn N. Hughes then ordered Fulcher to serve 360 months for producing child pornography aka sexual exploitation of a child. He also received 240 and 120 months for the distribution and possession convictions, respectively. All sentences were ordered to be served consecutively for a total of 720 months in federal prison. Fulcher must also pay $12,000 in restitution.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children alerted authorities to a particular social media site with a user suspected of uploading dozens of images containing child exploitation material. The investigation led to the identification of Fulcher using that account.

Law enforcement later conducted a search of his email account where they found multiple images and videos of child pornography. Some depicted bondage and prepubescent children. There were also images of an adult appearing to be Fulcher with a minor relative. Images showed his penis exposed and pointed at the back of the minor’s head.

Another video depicted an adult male with a distinctively tattooed forearm who is manipulating a minor male’s genital area both outside and inside the pants. At one point, the adult removes the child’s penis from his pants so as to display it to the camera.

Law enforcement secured a federal search warrant for the location where Fulcher had been residing. At that time, they spoke with one of his relatives who identified the minor male victim in the video as well as Fulcher’s forearm and tattoo.

Authorities later obtained and executed a search warrant at Fulcher’s new residence where they seized a cell phone and two hard drives. Forensic examination resulted in the discovery of 1,035 images and 261 videos of young children engaged in sexually-explicit conduct.

Fulcher has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly Ann Leo is prosecuting the case, which was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood(PSC), a nationwide initiative the Department of Justice (DOJ) launched in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section leads PSC, which marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children and identifies and rescues victims. For more information about PSC, please visit DOJ’s PSC page. For more information about internet safety education, please visit the resources tab on that page.