SHERMAN, Texas – A Lake Kiowa, Texas man has been sentenced to federal prison for child exploitation violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston today.
David Wayne Woods, 70, pleaded guilty on March 22, 2022, to coercion and enticement of a minor and was sentenced to 135 months in federal prison today by U.S. District Judge Amos L. Mazzant.
According to information presented in court, in July 2019, HSI-Dallas agents encountered Woods at the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport as he was returning from a trip to the Philippines. Agents conducted a border inspection, during which time they conducted an extraction and review of Woods’ cell phone and laptop computer. During the investigation it was determined that Woods, a school bus driver in Cooke County, Texas, had been communicating with minor females from the Philippines using a social media application.
From April 2019 through July 2019, Woods engaged in sexually explicit chats with a female who he knew was a minor. Woods messaged the child with descriptions of sexually explicit acts that he wanted to perform on her and repeatedly asked the child to take videos and photos of her nude body and to record herself engaging in sexually explicit conduct. Woods offered the child money for the videos and photos and sent wire transfers of small sums of currency when he received the videos and photos. On July 5, 2019, Woods met the child at a hotel in the Philippines, at which time he provided her with cash, chocolates, and a cellular phone in exchange for the child engaging in sexual acts with Woods. Woods then recorded the sex acts with his cellular phone.
“Woods traveled thousands of miles to victimize children thinking he could not possibly be caught for his deviant crimes,” said U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston. “In all his scheming, he failed to factor in our law enforcement partners at the airport and abroad. Members of the Philippine National Police and HSI agents stationed in the Philippines did an extraordinary job in identifying the minor victims and ensuring Woods would be justly punished for his crimes.”
“When it involves international cases of this magnitude, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) is a top-tier law enforcement agency never relenting in our efforts to apprehend and convict criminals who prey on innocent minors,” said Jesse Woods, Assistant Special Agent in Charge for HSI Dallas. “This investigation illustrates how our agency and law enforcement partners across the globe worked seamlessly to end these crimes, stopping at nothing in pursuit of this dangerous child sex predator.”
This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations-Dallas and the Philippines, Customs and Border Protection, and the Philippine National Police. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Marisa Miller.
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