Former Fort Moore employee pleads guilty to possession of child pornography, DOJ says

A former Fort Moore employee pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court to one count of possession of child pornography, according to a Justice Department news release.

Terric Taylor, 37, faces a maximum of 20 years in prison followed by at least five years or even lifetime supervised release and a fine of $250,000 plus possible restitution to be determined by the court, the DOJ said. Taylor will be required to register as a sex offender upon his release from prison, according to the release. His sentence will be determined by a judge.

Court documents and statements referenced in court indicate that the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received a cyber tip in July 2022 from the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) regarding a child pornography file uploaded to the platform by user “strayBreeders04,” according to the DOJ.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the Harris County Sheriff’s Office discovered that Taylor was the user and worked out of Fort Moore, according to the release.

Taylor was located and admitted to officers that he had downloaded images of child pornography from X, according to the release.

Agents found several files containing child sexual abuse material on Taylor’s phone, the DOJ said. Taylor estimated he had approximately 50 videos of children engaging in sexual acts on his device, the release states.

“Each sexually explicit video of a child is a permanent record of the abuse committed against that child that continues and can cause great suffering to the victim,” U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary said in a statement. “This case illustrates how people from many sectors of the community are helping us to hold offenders accountable for possessing child pornography. »

The DOJ did not specify in its statement what job Taylor worked at Fort Moore. His plea agreement also did not specify his position.

Taylor’s sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 28, according to the DOJ.