Sherman, Texas -- A Denton man has been sentenced to more than 14 years in federal prison for child exploitation violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs.  

Trinity Snow Cassells, also known as Dustin Joseph McDuffie, 34, pleaded guilty to distribution of child pornography and was sentenced to 170 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Marcia A. Crone on October 21, 2025. 

According to information presented in court, Cassells was the subject of 10 different CyberTips between 2018 and 2024.  He utilized multiple social media platforms, cloud storage accounts, email accounts, and the dark web to trade child pornography.  Cassells chatted with purported minors on social media platforms commonly used by children, groomed them to engage in illegal sexual conduct, and encouraged them to abuse other children.  As part of that conduct, he distributed child pornography to them.  

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 Denton Police Department and Homeland Security Investigations and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Marisa Miller.