DALLAS - A husband and wife from Big Spring, Texas, were sentenced
Friday to a combined 140 years in prison for crimes against multiple
children.
Special agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in San
Angelo, Texas, investiated the case with the assistance of the Howard
County Sheriff’s Office and the High Technology Investigative Unit
within the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section
(CEOS).
Christopher James Regan, 38, a former shipping logistics
manager, was sentenced to 90 years in prison after pleading guilty in
October 2019 to conspiracy to produce child pornography and two counts
of producing child pornography.
Tanya Marie Regan, 35, was
sentenced to 50 years in prison after her October 2019 guilty plea to
conspiracy to produce child pornography and possession of prepubescent
child pornography. The sentences handed down in the Northern District
of Texas, also included lifetime terms of supervised release for both
defendants.
According to court documents, Christopher and Tanya
Regan sexually abused and produced child pornography of multiple
children, and they possessed and distributed child pornography to one
another as well. The Regans also engaged in graphic discussions about
the sexual abuse of children over several online platforms.
In
plea papers, the pair admitted that at Christopher Regan’s direction,
Tanya Regan repeatedly videotaped herself sexually abusing children for
Christopher Regan’s sexual gratification.
When law enforcement
seized electronics from the home, several graphic videos had been
deleted, but were still stored in the recycle bin or on unalloted space
on various SD cards. Undeleted videos were stored in a computer folder
titled “users\tanya_000\pictures\privatevids\minor.”“This
is one of the most despicable cases of child exploitation and abuses of
trust I have seen in my law-enforcement career,” said Ryan L. Spradlin,
special agent in charge of HSI Dallas. “Even the most hardened criminal
would likely take exception to this kind of heinous behavior. No
sentence is long enough for these two individuals, and sends a clear
message to others who sexually exploit vulnerable children: We will come
after you and hold you accountable for your reprehensible actions.”
The
following agencies provided substantial assistance with the
investigation: HSI Lubbock and HSI Tyler, Texas; Tom Green County
Sheriff’s Office;Texas Department of Public Safety, and the National
Center for Mission and Expoilted Children.
“All the agencies
involved worked diligently in this case. Without strong working
relationships many of these horrendous crimes may get overlooked,” said
Howard County Sherrif Stan Parker. “These are some of the worst crimes
enforcement officers have to investigate, and it is gratifying to have
agencies work together to accomplish the main goal and that is keeping
the kids out of harm’s way. I hope we can continue to work together to
accomplish the goals needed to fight this battle. We ask that you keep
the young innocent victims of this crime in your thoughts and prayers as
they try to move forward with their lives.”
Trial Attorney Kyle
P. Reynolds of CEOS and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ann Howey and Jeffrey
R. Haag prosecuted the case along with former Assistant U.S. Attorney
Russell H. Lorfing.
This investigation was conducted under HSI’s Operation Predator , an international initiative to protect children from sexual predators. Since the launch of Operation Predator in 2003, HSI has arrested more than 25,000 individuals for crimes against children, including the production and distribution of online child exploitation material, traveling overseas for sex with minors, and sex trafficking of children.
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