FORT WORTH, Texas — A Fort Worth man who posed as a girls soccer recruiter has pleaded guilty to receiving child pornography, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Friday.
Michael Ansley Twing, 43, who was already a registered sex offender, acquired sexually explicit images of minor girls on his laptop, according to court documents. Prosecutors showed evidence at Twing's detention hearing that he had been posing as a recruiter for a local university under the name “Michael Krogen.”
The university was not named by the DOJ. Department officials said in a release that there is no evidence of wrongdoing by the university, which is cooperating fully with the investigation.
The DOJ said agents recovered a note on university letterhead in Twing's bedroom, writing under the "Michael Krogen" alias and claiming to be a recruiter. They also found a roster of high school soccer players and identified at least one text in which Twing asked a coach for contact info for a student.
This was not the first time Twing has pleaded guilty on charges related to child pornography.
In 2010, Twing, who lived in Amarillo at the time, pleaded guilty to one count of possession of child pornography. The 2010 DOJ release stated that Twing faced up to 10 years in federal prison. On Jan. 11, 2011, he was sentenced to 75 months (six years and three months) followed by five years of supervised release, according to court records. One day later, his sentence was corrected to 65 months (five years and six months) followed by five years of supervised release, the DOJ told WFAA.
Court records show Twing was released from custody in October 2014 and began his term of supervision in Fort Worth to live with his mother. Twing later admitted to violating his conditions of release by viewing pornography multiple times, and his supervised release was revoked on Oct. 17, 2017. He was sentenced to an additional 10 months in prison, the DOJ said. Twing's supervised release was revoked again on April, 30, 2019 and he was sentenced to an additional nine months in prison.
Twing now faces up to 40 years in federal prison for the charge announced on Friday, according to the DOJ. His sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 21.
Authorities asked anyone aware of a minor who may have had inappropriate contact with Twing, also known as “Michael Krogen” and “Christopher Michael Crogen,” at a soccer tournament or elsewhere, to contact Crimestoppers at 817-469-TIPS (8477) or www.469TIPS.com.
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