Fordyce man pleads guilty to child pornography charge

A Dallas County man accused of possession and distribution of child pornography pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court to one count of distribution of child pornography in exchange for the government's agreement to dismiss the possession count.

Clay Lee Trimble, 30, of Fordyce was escorted into the courtroom Tuesday by U.S. marshals from the Dallas County jail, where he has been held since his arrest last July. Accompanied by his attorney, KenDrell Collins with the Federal Public Defenders Office in Little Rock, Trimble answered questions posed by Chief U.S. District Judge D. Price Marshall Jr. as the hearing got underway.

Noting Trimble's hometown, Marshall said, "I know Fordyce. Are you a Redbug?"

"Yes, sir," Trimble answered.

Summarizing the plea agreement between Trimble and the government, Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren Eldridge said Trimble had agreed to plead guilty to distribution of child pornography in exchange for dismissal of the remaining count against him. Upon sentencing, she said he faces a minimum prison term of five years and could possibly receive up to 20 years.

Eldridge said although she was not aware of any prior sex offenses in Trimble's record, if it is discovered that he has been convicted in the past of similar behavior, he would face a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and could be subject to a maximum 40 years behind bars.

After explaining Trimble's trial rights and the rights he was surrendering by pleading guilty, Marshall asked Trimble if he had read the plea agreement.

"I've read it," Trimble said, "Mr. Collins has gone over it with me numerous times, and I understand."

"Good," Marshall said. "You're two steps ahead of me."

Marshall explained that, although nothing specific was spelled out in the plea agreement, Trimble could be subject to a requirement to pay restitution.

"If any of the children who are supposedly in these pictures come forward and seek money, then I'll have to evaluate that," he said. "It's quite possible that you could incur a restitution obligation and have to pay some money to them."

Going over the summary of facts in the case, Eldridge said Trimble came to the FBI's attention through postings on a website dedicated to the advertisement and distribution of child pornography. The website was being monitored by an undercover FBI agent. She said a subject user on the website identified as Trimble posted files on April 18, 2021, and April 23, 2021, depicting sexually explicit images of children estimated to be between five and 11 years old.

Eldridge said a search of Trimble's residence July 27, 2021, turned up two thumb drives containing Trimble's username on the site and pornographic images of children that included "infants, toddlers, bestiality, sadomasochism, and known victims." She said two videos recovered from the thumb drives portrayed sexually explicit conduct between adults and toddlers.

She said when Trimble was questioned about the materials he admitted to being the subject user and to downloading and distributing child pornography. She said he was active on the website from 2017 until 2021.

"As to Count 2 of the indictment," Marshall asked, after Eldridge finished the factual summary, "how do you plead?"

"Guilty, Your Honor," Trimble responded.

"Did you do the things that she said they can prove that you did?" Marshall asked.

"Yes, Your Honor," he replied.

Trimble, under further questioning by Marshall, admitted that he had both shared and received child pornography through the website.

"Were the pictures of children really children, four, five, six, seven, eight years old?" Marshall asked. "Did you know they were children? ... Did you know what you were doing?"

Trimble answered affirmatively to each question.

After accepting Trimble's guilty plea, Marshall explained that a sentencing hearing will be set for sometime in "late fall or early winter" following completion of a pre-sentencing report by the U.S. Probation Office.


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