Seabrook man charged with possessing child porn

HOUSTON Michael Anthony Grabar, 44, was sentenced Wednesday to a 50-month prison term to be followed by a life term of supervised release. Grabar was also ordered by the court to register as a sex offender and will have to participate in a sex offender treatment program, have no Internet access, not to work or reside within 100 feet of places primarily used by children under 18, and not to have any contact with children under the age of 18.

Grabar was working as a forklift operator for a subsidiary of KBR at a U.S. Marine base in Iraq in 2008 when the investigation began. KBR security officials at Camp Fallujah were attempting to identify the owner of a lost thumb drive at a laundry facility when an official saw what appeared to be images of child pornography. Documents on the thumb drive identified Michael Grabar as the owner. A total of approximately 500 images and 73 videos containing child pornography were found on the drive as well as a laptop computer and other storage devices seized from Grabar's quarters.

After the discovery of the images, Graber was terminated and sent back to the United States. The U.S. Attorney's Office said in situations where a civilian is employed by or accompanying the Armed Forces outside the United States and commits what would be a federal crime, federal law allows for the prosecution of that individual in the district where he last lived. In Grabar's case, that is Seabrook.

Grabar has been permitted to remain on bond pending the issuance of a court order to surrender and be designated to a facility where he will serve his sentence.

For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.