FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE	CONTACT: Lauren Horwood
June 17, 2011	PHONE: (916) 554-2706
www.usdoj.gov/usao/cae	usacae.edcapress@usdoj.gov
Docket #: 1:10-cr-00320-LJO

FRESNO, Calif. — United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced today that Westley Grant Stevens, 22, of Fresno, pleaded guilty yesterday to possession of child pornography.

According to the plea agreement, Stevens possessed more than 150 images and videos of child pornography on his computer; many of the images depicted prepubescent minors.

Stevens is scheduled to be sentenced by United States District Judge Lawrence J. O'Neill on September 2, 2011. He faces a maximum sentence of 10 years of in prison, a fine of $250,000, and a lifetime term of supervised release. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory sentencing factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

This case is the result of Operation Direct Connect, an extensive series of investigations by the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, specifically the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Madera County Sheriff's Office, and the Fresno County Sheriff's Office. Assistant United States Attorneys Jeremy R. Jehangiri and Grant B. Rabenn are prosecuting the case.

This case was 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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