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Department of Justice United States Attorney David L. Huber Contact: Sandy Focken |
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April 9, 2008
MORGANFIELD MAN INDICTED ON CHILD PORNOGRAPHY CHARGES
OWENSBORO, KY - A federal grand jury in Bowling Green returned a superseding indictment charging Matthew Steward, age 22, of Morganfield, Kentucky, in Union County, with possessing child pornography on October 25, 2005, U.S. Attorney David L. Huber of the Western District of Kentucky announced today. The original Indictment was filed on November 9, 2005, and charged Steward with knowingly receiving, possessing and distributing child pornography.
In March 2005, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in San Antonio, Texas, used a file sharing network to download images and videos of child pornography from a computer belonging to Steward. In May 2005 law enforcement officers executed a search warrant and seized two computers from Steward’s residence. A forensic examination of the computer was conducted and revealed the presence of child pornography images on the hard drive, including still images depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, child erotica, including images of girls under the age of 18 with their breasts exposed or otherwise posed in a sexually suggestive manner. The computer contained two video clips, one of which shows an adult male vaginally penetrating a prepubescent female child.
Steward was arrested in October 2005, and at it was discovered that he had obtained a new computer after the execution of the search warrant. The computer was seized and additional child pornography was discovered, resulting in the additional charge in the Superseding Indictment.
In the event of a conviction, the maximum potential penalties are 60 years imprisonment, a $1,000,000 fine, and supervised release for a period of any number of years, including life; and the minimum potential penalties are 5 years imprisonment.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David Weiser, and it was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Steward is scheduled to appear for arraignment before the United States Magistrate Judge on April 23, 2008, at 9:00 a.m., in Owensboro, Kentucky.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices, 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 identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
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The indictment of a person by a Grand Jury is an accusation
only and that person is presumed innocent until and unless
proven guilty.
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