Denver Man Sentenced For Possession Of Child Pornography He Ordered Over The Internet Which Was Delivered Via United States Mail

Torture table was found in house of defendant when authorities executed search warrant

DENVER -- Clifford Eric Perian, age 53, of Denver, Colorado, was sentenced today by Senior U.S. District Court Judge Lewis T. Babcock to serve 82 months (over 6 years) in federal prison for possession of child pornography, the United States Attorney’s Office and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service announced.  After serving his prison sentence, Perian was ordered to serve 10 years on supervised release.  He will also be required to register as a sex offender.  The defendant, who appeared at the hearing in custody, was remanded immediately after the sentencing was concluded.

Perian was first charged by Criminal Complaint on May 24, 2013.  He was then indicted by a federal grand jury in Denver on June 18, 2013.  He pled guilty before Senior Judge Babcock on September 17, 2013.  He was sentenced on December 10, 2013.

According to court documents, including the affidavit in support of the Criminal Complaint, the indictment, and the stipulated facts contained in the plea agreement, based on a law enforcement tip, the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) began an investigation into Clifford Eric Perian, and determined that he had on multiple occasions purchased several child pornography films.  With the help of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NECMEC), the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) investigated numerous CyberTipLine reports relating to emails and online postings by an individual using three different email addresses going back as far as November 11, 2007.  The NCMEC and the USPIS were able to establish that evidence existed indicating that all three accounts were used by Clifford Perian.  In the postings, Perian was soliciting parents of minor boys or looking for minor volunteers to be subjected to various acts of sexual torture and/or abuse.

On May 23, 2013, Postal Inspectors executed a search warrant at the residence of Perian in Denver. Inspectors found the bondage and sexual paraphernalia Perian boasted about online.  They found DVD’s containing child pornography or child erotica, as well as a home-made “torture table” with which to tie down and immobilize others.  Computers were also seized.  Following the execution of the search warrant, Postal Inspectors contacted Perian.  Investigators then determined that Perian ordered videos online, and then received them in the U.S. Mail.  It was also determined that Perian received images of young males under the age of 18 engaged in sexual activity with male adults through internet chat rooms and via email.  There were also allegations that Perian sexually touched and was sexually touched by at least three boys ages 16 to 17 in approximately 2004 through 2006.  Law enforcement also determined that Perian had been to local water parks taking non-explicit pictures of young boys he did not know under the age of 18.  

“This defendant was focused on the physical torture of young children,” said U.S. Attorney John Walsh.  “Not only did he possess images of child torture, he admitted to molesting boys, and Postal Inspectors found a ‘torture table’ in the basement of his home.  His prison sentence clearly will protect our children from this predator.”

“We continued to aggressively investigate, apprehend and assist in the prosecution of individuals who seek to exploit children via the U.S. Mail,” said Adam P. Behnen, Inspector in Charge, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Denver Division.  “It is imperative that we identify and prosecute these predators to stop the further exploitation of children.”

This case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

Perian was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Valeria Spencer.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), 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, PSC marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about PSC, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/  For more information about Internet safety education, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/resources.html and click on the tab "resources."

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