FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE	Monday, July 23, 2012
Docket #:1:12-cr-00090-LJO

FRESNO, Calif. — Imad Ibrahim Abousalem, 44, of Fresno, pleaded guilty today to possessing child pornography, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.
According to court documents, on November 18, 2011, Abousalem possessed between 10 and 150 images depicting minors engaged sexually explicit conduct. The images also involved the portrayal of sadistic, masochistic, and other depictions of violence, and included depictions of pre-pubescent minors. Abousalem has been in custody since April 12, 2012.

He is scheduled to be sentenced on October 15, 2012 by United States District Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill. In light of a prior conviction, Abousalem faces a minimum statutory period of confinement of 10 years. 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 an extensive investigation by the Central California Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, specifically the Fresno U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Assistant United States Attorney Brian W. Enos is prosecuting the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”

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