Anchorage, Alaska – U.S. Attorney Karen L. Loeffler, District of Alaska, announced that a Klawock man was indicted by a federal grand jury in Anchorage for the possession of child pornography.

William Benson Woods, Jr., a/k/a “Ben Woods,” 48, of Klawock, Alaska, was arraigned on December 22, 2010, before United States Magistrate Judge Leslie Longenbaugh on the charge of possession of child pornography, contained in a one-count indictment. Mr. Woods pled not guilty to the charge.

According to the indictment, from November 16, 2005, to February 3, 2009, Woods possessed numerous visual depictions of a minors engaged in sexually-explicit conduct on his computer and other electronic media.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle French, who presented the case to the grand jury, indicated that the law provides for a maximum total sentence of up to ten years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, or both, a lifetime on supervised release, and that the government would be seeking forfeiture of the items used in the offense. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant. Magistrate Judge Longenbaugh set a trial date of February 28 , 2011.

The Department of Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation leading to the indictment in this case.

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

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