District Man Sentenced to Three Years in Prison in Child Pornography Case
More Than 600 Images of Child Porn Found on His Computer

WASHINGTON - A 35-year-old Northwest District of Columbia man, Sidney Spain, was sentenced today by the Honorable Judge Thomas F. Hogan in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on one count of Possession of Child Pornography to 36 months in prison to be followed by 25 years' supervised release, and a $75,000 fine, U.S. Attorney Jeffrey A. Taylor announced. Spain, who has a prior North Carolina conviction for Conspiracy to Commit 3rd Degree Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, an offense also related to the possession of child pornography, pled guilty to the charge in February 2008.

According to the government's evidence, on Friday, November 9, 2007, at approximately 12:27 p.m., members of the Metropolitan Police Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation executed a federal search warrant at the defendant's apartment, located in the 1300 block of U Street, NW, Washington, D.C. Among the items recovered in the search of the defendant's residence was a Western Digital external hard drive, a Dell Dimension 8300 desktop computer, an IBM Thinkpad laptop computer, and an HP DV400 laptop computer with a "North Carolina" sticker. Analysis revealed that the computers and the hard drive contained in excess of 600 images of child pornography, that the majority of the pornographic images were of prepubescent males, and that the defendant possessed these images for his personal use, and to distribute them to others. The ages of the children appeared to range from approximately three to five years old to young teens. Among the images were movie files depicting prepubescent male children approximately ten years old engaging in sexual acts.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood and the FBI/MPD Child Exploitation Task Force (formerly known as the Regional Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force FBI/MPD Child Exploitation Task Force). In February 2006, the Attorney General created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorney's Offices, 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 identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Taylor praised the quick action and investigative work of a joint task force consisting of Metropolitan Police Department Detectives Timothy Palchak, Jonathan Andrews, Morani Hines, Miguel Miranda, and Lieutenant Patricia Williams, and Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agents Scott Schelble, Michael French, David Solis, Jill Blackman, Daniel Bradley, Chadwick Elegersma, and Chad Gallagher. Finally, Mr. Taylor commended Jeannette Fennell and Latoya Wade, who provided paralegal support; paralegal Michael Hailey and Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracey Lankler who conducted the initial investigation; and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jean Sexton, who prosecuted this case.

Press Releases | Washington Field Office Home