BELLEVILLE MAN SENTENCED FOR POSSESSION OF CHILD PORNOGRAPHY

A. Courtney Cox, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today that on June 4, 2009, THOMAS S. WOJCIK, age 43, of Belleville, Illinois, was sentenced in United States District Court to 66 months imprisonment for Possession of Child Pornography, which contained visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. In addition to the 66 month sentence, WOJCIK was also fined $1,000 and ordered to be placed on Supervised Release by the U.S. Probation Office, following his release from prison. The violation took place on January 31, in St. Clair County, Illinois, and was accomplished through use of the internet.

According to information considered by the court at sentencing, WOJCIK had over 2600 images on his computer when it was seized by law enforcement. The computer contained images of prepubescent minors engaged in sexual conduct and some portrayed sadistic behavior.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov. ]

The investigation was conducted by the Department of Homeland Security. The case was handled by Assistant United States Attorneys Robert Garrison and Michael C. Carr.