Former Denton police officer sentenced to over 10 years in prison on child porn charges
SHERMAN, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) — A former Denton police officer will spend over 10 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to child pornography violations, a judge decided Thursday.
David Schoolcraft, 39, of Argyle, was sentenced to 121 months in federal prison on Sept. 22 after he pleaded guilty last December to possessing child pornography. He was employed as an officer with the Denton Police Department at the time of his crimes.
According to court records, federal agents began investigating Schoolcraft after it was discovered that he had been distributing child pornography on social media between Dec. 2020 and Jan. 2021 - sometimes even while he was at work.
In Feb. 2021, federal agents served search warrants at Schoolcraft's house and spoke to him. He admitted that he had been using the social media app and his cell phone to trade sexually explicit images and videos of prepubescent minors.
Some of the content even depicted children who had been bound before being sexually abused by adults.
Schoolcraft was indicted for possession of child pornography by a federal grand jury on March 10, 2021. He pleaded guilty on Dec. 28 of that year.
U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston said after the sentencing today, "Schoolcraft violated his oath of office as a police officer and the trust of our community, and instead of protecting children he took pleasure in viewing children being sexually exploited and harmed."
The case is part of a May 2006 initiative launched by the Department of Justice called Project Safe Childhood. It was investigated by the FBI, Denton Police Department, and Plano Police Department.