UNITED STATES ATTORNEY JOYCE WHITE VANCE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ALABAMA
	FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE			CONTACT: PEGGY SANFORD
	OCTOBER 9, 2009			PHONE: (205) 244-2020
	www.usdoj.gov/usao/aln			FAX: (205) 244-2171

TUSCALOOSA MAN SENTENCED TO 30 YEARS ON CHILD PORN CONVICTION

U.S. District Judge L. Scott Coogler today sentenced a Tuscaloosa man to 30 years in prison on a June conviction of producing and possessing child pornography, U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance announced.

Coogler sentenced ROBERT EDWARD FEE, 54, to 30 years in prison on each of eight counts of producing child pornography, with the sentences to be served at the same time. Each count represented a photograph of an 11-year-old girl engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

The judge sentenced Fee to 10 years in prison on one count of possessing child pornography. That sentence also will run concurrently with the production of pornography sentences. Coogler issued the maximum sentences allowable on each count.

Fee’s wife, Rhonda Michelle Fee, 42, also was convicted on the child pornography charges in June. Coogler postponed her sentencing, and no date for it has been set.
Upon completion of his prison term, Fee will be placed on supervised release for the rest of his life. Terms of that release will prohibit him from unsupervised contact with anyone under age 18. He will have to register as a sex offender.

Special Agents of the FBI and the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff’s Department worked together in the investigation of this case. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura Hodge.

“I applaud the sentence handed down by the court against Mr. Fee,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Patrick Maley. “I also want to extend my personal thanks to the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI’s Tuscaloosa Resident Agency for their tireless efforts in this case. This type of behavior is abhorrent and we will continue to pursue those who would violate the trust and innocence of our children,” Maley said.

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