FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE	Monday, September 17, 2012
Docket #: 1:11-cr-00236 AWI

FRESNO, Calif.—Clovis resident John Whitley Richards, 41, was sentenced today by Chief United States District Judge Anthony W. Ishii to seven years and three months in prison for receiving child pornography. The prison term is to be followed by a 10-year term of supervised release.

According to court documents, Richards downloaded and maintained a collection of between 300 and 600 images depicting minors engaged in various types of sexually explicit conduct. Richards pleaded guilty to the charge on July 9, 2012 and has been in federal custody since that date.

This case was the result of an investigation by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Assistant United States Attorney Brian W. Enos prosecuted 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. Click on the “resources” tab for information about Internet safety education.

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