Smith County Man Sentenced for Child Exploitation Violations

TYLER – A Tyler man has been sentenced to 18 years in federal prison for child exploitation violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston today.

Daniel Dylan Skipworth, 20, pleaded guilty on March 28, 2022, to transporting a minor to engage in sexual activity and was sentenced to 216 months in federal prison today by U.S. District Judge J. Campbell Barker.

According to information presented in court, Skipworth admitted that in April 2021, he transported a 13-year-old he met online from the state of Alabama to his residence in Tyler to commit the offense of sexual abuse of a minor.  Skipworth’s conviction is the result of a cooperative effort involving the FBI, Tyler Police Department, and the Smith County District Attorney’s Office, who undertook the investigation after analyzing GPS data associated with the phone of a child who had been reported missing by her foster parents in Alabama.

“Every parent’s nightmare!” said U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston. “Skipworth’s evil actions should cause all of us to shudder.  There are human predators willing to harm children and guardians should always know what their children are doing on-line to prevent these encounters.  Great work by the Tyler Police Department, the Smith County District Attorney’s Office and the FBI stopped this terrible crime.”

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 the Federal Bureau of Investigation Tyler Resident Agency, Tyler Police Department and Smith County District Attorney’s Office and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lucas Machicek.

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Davilyn Walston

Public Affairs Officer/Law Enforcement Coordinator

U.S. Attorney’s Office

Eastern District of Texas