FORT WORTH — A former Grapevine police officer pleaded guilty in federal court Wednesday to one count of production and one count of possession of child pornography, authorities said.
Philip Woolery, 46, faces between 15 and 40 years in federal prison, a $500,000 fine and a lifetime of supervised release. Sentencing is set for Sept. 17 in U.S. District Judge Terry R. Means’ court. A single father of a child, Woolery was a 17-year veteran of the Grapevine Police Department at the time of his arrest. He was fired on Nov. 11, according to Grapevine police, which had no further comment.Child Protective Services took custody of Woolery’s child shortly after his arrest with the hopes of placing the child with relatives.Woolery has been in custody since being arrested by investigators with the Postal Inspection Service in October 2012 at his home in Crowley.Woolery admitted that he had used his digital camera to record a minor male engaging in sexually explicit conduct in a swimming pool, according to a news released issued by United States Attorney Sarah R. Saldana with the Northern District of Texas. Woolery also admitted that he possessed a laptop computer that contained a sexually explicit image of a nude minor male and that he used that computer to search for child porn websites.The investigation began in October 2010 when inspectors received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that a company was offering child pornography videos for sale over the Internet. The company’s records, which included a customer database of orders, were seized. Woolery’s home address and e-mail were connected to a Jan.1, 2010, purchase order.Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
