Galveston man pleads guilty to 2 counts of possession of child pornography with intent to promote

GALVESTON, Texas – A 59-year-old man was sentenced to seven years in the Institutional Division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice after he pleaded guilty to two charges of possession of child pornography with intent to promote, according to authorities.

Michael Louis Tulp was arrested in August 2016 after investigators traced an IP address back to Tulp's residence.

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In July 2016, investigators said an internet file-sharing website sent information to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children concerning files that were uploaded that the website believed to be child pornography.

After confirming the images were child pornography, a search warrant was obtained and executed at Tulp's residence.

While being interviewed by investigators, Tulp admitted to receiving, viewing, sending and saving child pornography, according to authorities.

Officers also found child pornography on Tulp's bedroom computer, according to investigators.

Tulp said he communicated with other people on the internet and during the chats he would exchange sexual images of children, investigators said.

Multiple computers and storage devices were seized.

After analyzing the hardware, investigators said several hundreds of videos and images of child pornography were found on the devices, according to authorities.

Tulp pleded guilty on Tuesday.

Tulp also forfeited the devices that were found to contain child pornography, authorities said.

Tulp must serve at least one-fourth of his sentence before being eligible for parole. Upon his release, he will be required to register as a sex offender for life.

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