FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE	CONTACT: Lauren Horwood
February 11, 2011	PHONE: (916) 554-2706
www.usdoj.gov/usao/cae	usacae.edcapress@usdoj.gov
Docket #:

FRESNO, Calif.—United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced the following:

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Derek Jerome Pitre, 58, of Clovis, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill to 17 years and one month in prison for receiving child pornography. The prison sentence will be followed by a lifetime term of supervised release during which his access to computers, the Internet, and minors will be restricted. He also will be required to register as a sex offender.

This case was the result of an investigation by the Fresno and Clovis Police Departments working in conjunction with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Assistant United States Attorney David Gappa prosecuted the case.

According to court records, Pitre became the subject of an investigation when Fresno Police Department detectives determined that he was the owner of a laptop computer that contained a large quantity of child pornography.  That computer initially was the subject of a burglary investigation, because it had been stolen. Separately, an anonymous source informed the Clovis Police Department that Pitre was in possession of a large quantity of child pornography in Clovis. When a search warrant was executed at Pitre’s residence, several computers and electronic storage devices were seized.  Subsequent forensic analysis of these items confirmed the presence of approximately 80,000 still images and more than 4200 videos of children being sexually abused and exploited.  Investigators also recovered numerous e-mail messages from Pitre. One message described his “burning and intense desire and need for intimate contact with a Lolita” and the “delight and sensuous joy that can only be brought to us in the inimitable form of a precious 11 year old girl who is not shy about showing me everything I paid to see.” 

Investigators arrested Pitre on April 27, 2010, at his former residence in Clovis.  When they searched his vehicle, they located two large bags filled with printed images of young girls being sexually abused by adult males.  They also recovered a letter that he had written to a minor female in which he expressed his sexual desire for her and indicated that “I’m taking the chance you’ll tell someone and I will go to prison for a long time.”  Investigators also recovered a cell phone that contained images of the minor female, numerous images of abandoned buildings, and several voice recordings by Pitre which stated his desire to take the minor female to these abandoned buildings.  Investigators subsequently learned about a storage shed that Pitre maintained in Clovis. When a search warrant was executed at that location, numerous boxes and bags containing tens of thousands of printed images of child pornography were recovered.  Pitre has been detained as a danger to the community and a flight risk since his initial appearance in federal court on May 28, 2010.

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Anthony Bernard Ellrodt, 38, of Bakersfield, California, pleaded guilty today before United States District Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill to possession of child pornography. Ellrodt agreed to serve a prison sentence of 11 years to be followed by a term of supervised release of at least 25 years during which his access to computers, the Internet, and minors will be restricted. He also will be required to register as a sex offender.

This case is the result of an investigation by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in response to a CyberTipline referral from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC). Assistant United States Attorney David Gappa is prosecuting the case.

According to court documents, NCMEC notified the Bakersfield HSI office that someone had uploaded a single image of what was believed to be child pornography to a photo-sharing website. Upon further investigation, HSI agents connected the image to Ellrodt. When a federal search warrant was executed at Ellrodt’s residence, and forensic review of seized evidence revealed that Ellrodt had possessed approximately 423 images of child pornography. He admitted today that some of the images were of prepubescent minors, some depicted violence, and that he had obtained all of them through the internet. Ellrodt was convicted on September 13, 1994, in Harvey County Kansas for aggravated indecent liberties with a child, for which he was sentenced to a 32-month prison term.

Ellrodt has been detained as a danger to the community and a flight risk since his initial appearance in federal court on October 13, 2010. The court has scheduled a sentencing hearing for May 6, 2011, at 8:30 a.m. The actual sentence imposed by the court will depend on numerous factors including consideration of the United States Sentencing Guidelines.

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William Hal Baldwin, 66, of Patterson, pleaded guilty today before United States District Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill to three counts of sexual exploitation of a minor. Baldwin agreed to serve a prison sentence of 262 months (approximately 22 years) to be followed by a lifetime term of supervised release during which his access to computers, the Internet, and minors will be restricted. He also will be required to register as a sex offender.

This case is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Modesto Office working in conjunction with the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney David Gappa is prosecuting the case.

According to court documents, a minor victim disclosed to law enforcement that Baldwin had molested the victim from 2005 through early 2010. The victim lived with Baldwin during the time of the abuse, and Baldwin knowingly persuaded, induced, enticed, and coerced the victim to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing video images of that conduct. Baldwin has agreed to forfeit approximately $12,747 and various items used in connection with commission of the offenses. The money is the proceeds from the sale of the residence that Baldwin owned and in which the abuse occurred and was documented. This money will be applied toward restitution for the victim.

Baldwin has been detained as a danger to the community and a flight risk since his initial appearance in federal court on August 30, 2010. The court has scheduled a sentencing hearing for May 6, 2011, at 8:15 a.m. The actual sentence imposed by the court will depend on numerous factors including consideration of the United States Sentencing Guidelines.

All these cases were brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, PSC mobilizes federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information, visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov or call the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California and ask to speak with the PSC coordinator..

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