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Department of Justice United States Attorney David L. Huber Contact: Sandy Focken |
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April 15, 2008
HENDERSON MAN ARRESTED ON CHILD PORNOGRAPHY CHARGES
OWENSBORO, KY - Kenneth Langston, age 45, of Henderson, Kentucky, in Henderson County, was arrested April 14, 2008, on charges of possessing and attempting to receive child pornography, U.S. Attorney David L. Huber of the Western District of Kentucky announced today.
According to the affidavit of a Special Agent with the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), on October 9, 2007, a United States Magistrate Judge seated in the Western District of Kentucky authorized a search warrant at the residence located in Henderson, Kentucky. The search warrant was predicated on an investigative lead received at the office of the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) in Louisville, Kentucky. According to the investigative lead, Kenneth Langston made a payment to a PayPal account on December 31, 2006 to a website determined to contain child pornography.
On October 12, 2007, the search warrant was executed and agents seized three computers, two digital cameras, and six thumb drives. Langston admitted to agents that he used one of the computers to make online purchases of various software and pornographic sites.
Forensic examination of the three computers and flash media items seized from Langston’s residence identified approximately 1,892 child pornographic images. Some of the images recovered depict:
• A nude female, approximately four to six years of age, being vaginally penetrated by an adult male’s penis. The female appears to be crying and in acute pain.
• A nude female, approximately two to four years of age. The female is bent over, exposing her genitalia and anus.
• A nude female, approximately seven to nine years of age. The female is posed with her legs spread, exposing her genitalia.
The forensic examination also recovered twenty-eight video files identified as child pornography from a thumb drive. The following is a description of one of the video files:
It is eleven minutes, twenty-one seconds long and depicts a white female approximately seven years of age. Throughout the video, the female performs oral sex on an adult male. During one portion of the video, the female is shown masturbating and then inserting a foreign object in her anus. The video ends with the female being sodomized by the adult male.
The case is being prosecuted by Madison T. Sewell, Assistant United States Attorney, and it was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Custom Enforcement.
In the event of a conviction, the maximum potential penalties are thirty years imprisonment, a $500,000 fine, and supervised release for a period of up to life; the minimum potential penalties are five years imprisonment and five years supervised release.
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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A criminal Complaint is an accusation only and that person is
presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
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