James Walter Hale - Repeat Sex Offender - Child Pornography

A convicted sex offender has been indicted by a federal grand jury on a child-pornography charge while he was on probation.

James Walter Hale, 57, of Houston, was indicted for possessing child pornography, officials said Tuesday.

Hale was previously convicted in December 1996 in state court for possession of child pornography and is currently in state prison for violating his probation and failing to register as a sex offender, authorities said.

The federal charges were filed against Hale after Harris County Sheriff’s deputies serving a search warrant for him failing to register as a sex offender noticed what they believed to be child pornography on his computer.

The sheriff's office alerted federal law enforcement agents, who investigated the case.

The indictment, handed up on Tuesday, accuses Hale of possessing child pornography on his computer, CDs and DVDs.

Because of his prior state conviction, Hale faces a mandatory sentence of at least 10 years and up to 20 years in prison as well as a maximum fine of $250,000, if he is convicted.

Also, if convicted, he faces a maximum of life on supervised release after he completes his prison sentence. The court can impose a number of special conditions on his release to protect children and prohibit the use of the Internet.

"25% of all sex offenders re-offend within 15 years"

.........Sarah Tofte