FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE	CONTACT: Lauren Horwood
September 23, 2011	PHONE: (916) 554-2706
www.usdoj.gov/usao/cae	usacae.edcapress@usdoj.gov
Docket #: 1:11-cr-00020 LJO

            FRESNO, Calif. — United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced that David Durham, 61, of Bakersfield, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill to eight years and one month in prison, to be followed by 15 years of supervised release, for receiving child pornography.

            According to court documents, Durham was found to have received more than 600 sexually explicit images of pre-pubescent minors in both video and still-image format. He pleaded guilty to this charge on May 27, 2011 and has been in federal custody since that date.

            This case is the result of an extensive investigation by the San Joaquin Valley’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Assistant United States Attorney Brian W. Enos prosecuted the case.

            “Every time a sexually explicit image of a minor is produced, transmitted, or viewed, a child is victimized,” said Michael Toms, resident agent in charge of ICE Homeland Security Investigation in Bakersfield. “We will continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners locally, nationally, and internationally to seek justice for those who mistakenly believe the Internet makes them invisible and invincible.”

            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.

# # # #

 

Return to Top