Debra Wong Yang
United States Attorney
Central District of California
United States Courthouse
312 North Spring Street
Los Angeles, California 90012
Return to the 2006 Press Release Index
Return to the Home Page
August 3, 2006
Thom Mrozek (213) 894-6947
Los Angeles, CA - A 53-year-old Burbank man has been sentenced to 79 months in federal prison for possessing and distributing child pornography that he made available to others via an Internet file-transfer program.
David Levi Lovato received the prison term Thursday afternoon from United States District Judge Consuelo B. Marshall in Los Angeles.
Lovato, who worked for the Los Angeles Unified School District in the 1990s, pleaded guilty in September 2005 to possession of child pornography and distribution of child pornography. When he pleaded guilty, Lovato admitted that he had made child pornography available to others over the Internet using a file sharing program, known as an F-serve.
Lovato's distribution of child pornography was initially discovered by a Rockland County Sheriff's deputy in upstate New York, who in his undercover capacity downloaded several pictures that Lovato had made available. The sheriff's deputy found Lovato in an Internet Relay Channel – preteen101 – where Lovato ran an advertisement every minute asking for "hardcore,” "preteen” and "action” images.
When investigators searched Lovato's Sylmar residence, where he resided in 2003, they discovered more than 7,000 images of child pornography, including graphic pictures and video files depicting the sexual torture of children under the age of 12.
Lovato, who has been in custody since his arrest in June 2005, will serve three years of supervised release after he is released from prison. He also will be required to register as a sex offender after he is released from prison.
This case was investigated by the United States Secret Service.
Release No. 06-106
Return to the 2006 Press Release Index
Return to the Home Page