New Jersey Man Pleads Guilty to Distribution of Child Pornography

Washington , D.C. – A 22-year-old New Jersey man, Jeremy Slagle, has pled guilty to Distribution of Material Involving Child Pornography, U.S. Attorney Jeffrey A. Taylor announced today.

Slagle entered his guilty plea today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia before the Honorable Henry H. Kennedy, Jr. The defendant faces a minimum sentence of 5 years in prison, and a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison when he is sentenced on January 9, 2009. Slagle is also subject to enhanced penalties because some of the images of child pornography he possessed involved prepubescent minors or minors who had not attained the age of 12 years, and some of the images and videos he possessed portrayed sadistic or masochistic conduct or other depictions of violence.

In December 2007, Metropolitan Police Detective Timothy Palchak assumed the online identity of a cooperating witness. After doing so, Detective Palchak was contacted by Slagle. An on-line conversation between Detective Palchak and Slagle ensued. During the course of the on-line contact, Slagle sent to Detective Palchak via the internet 33 images depicting child pornography and eight video clips containing child pornography. Slagle sent the images and video clips containing child pornography from his parents' home in Fort Lee, New Jersey.

Law enforcement subsequently executed a search warrant at Slagle’s parents’ home, and seized Slagle’s computer. A search of Slagle's computer revealed over 268 images of child pornography and 21 videos of child pornography. The images located on Slagle’s computer were taken to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children where they were compared with NCMEC’s Child Recognition & Identification System. The analysis resulted in 43 of the images being identified as images of known minors, i.e., under age 18.

In announcing the guilty plea, U.S. Attorney Taylor commended the outstanding investigative work of Metropolitan Police Detective Timothy Palchak and the following members of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force who provided investigative support: FBI Agent Scott Schelbe and Metropolitan Police Detectives Jonathan Andrews and Miguel Miranda. He also recognized FBI Agents Daniel Damron and Andrew Smallman, who conducted the forensic analysis of Slagle’s computer, and FBI Agent Jamie Banko, who coordinated the investigation in New Jersey. Lastly, the U.S. Attorney praised the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Lisa Colone of the District of New Jersey, who assisted with the New Jersey aspects of the case, Assistant U.S. Attorney David Saybolt, who handled the initial investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Catherine K. Connelly, who is prosecuting the case.

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