WASHINGTON - Marques Bynum, 27, of Charlotte, NC was sentenced on Jan. 3, 2008 to 192 months imprisonment after being convicted on April 18, 2007 on multiple counts of transportation and possession of child pornography, Assistant Attorney General Alice Fisher of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert of the Western District of North Carolina announced today. After his release from prison, Bynum must register as a sex offender and will be supervised by the United States Probation Office for 15 years.
The case against Bynum was tried in the Western District of North Carolina in front of U.S. District Judge Frank Whitney. At trial, the Government proved that during the period from June 2003 to August 2003, Bynum posted numerous images of child pornography to a Yahoo Group entitled "sumthin4usgirls". The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) began an undercover investigation into this group in July 2003. Upon identifying the screen name "markie-zkidluv6" as the screen name responsible for multiple postings of child pornography, the FBI traced the screen name back to Bynum. FBI Agents in Charlotte continued the investigation and thereafter executed a search warrant in Bynum’s home, recovering a laptop computer belonging to him. Examination of that computer revealed approximately 5,000 images of child pornography, as well as evidence linking Bynum to the Yahoo Group.
Over the course of the three-day trial, the Government called numerous witnesses, including law enforcement officers from Sweden, Georgia, and Idaho, as well as a digital imaging expert, to prove that the children depicted in the images were real. The defense did not offer any evidence at trial.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimlani Ford and Trial Attorney Darcy Katzin of the Department of Justice’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section. The investigation was handled by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
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