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Department of Justice United States Attorney David L. Huber Contact: Sandy Focken |
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April 24, 2008
HARDYVILLE CHILD PORNOGRAPHER SENTENCED TO 60 YEARS
– The Royal Canadian Mounted Police get their man
BOWLING GREEN, KY - Jason Hawkins, age 30, of Hardyville, Kentucky, was sentenced to 60 years imprisonment in United States District Court, Bowling Green, Kentucky, for transporting, receiving, possessing and producing child pornography, U.S. Attorney David L. Huber of the Western District of Kentucky announced today. Joseph H. McKinley, Jr., Judge, United States District Court, also sentenced Hawkins to lifetime supervised release following incarceration. There is no parole in the federal judicial system.
On October 30, 2006, an undercover detective of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police logged on to Google Hello. Within a few seconds of logging on to the account, the undercover detective was contacted by Hawkins. During the chat conversation, Hawkins sent the undercover detective 10 images of child pornography. The Canadian Police contacted Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which then obtained a search warrant for Hawkins’s computer.
Computer Hard Drive Images
During a forensic search of Hawkins’ computer and hard drives, federal agents identified approximately 9949 images as being suspected child pornography or were images belonging to a series of child pornography. Of the 9949 images, 6954 images were matched for images identified as child pornography or images identified through databases maintained by the National Child Victim Identification Program, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and others. Twelve images depicted bondage scenes and 2 images were suspect child pornography images depicting bestiality scenes. The ages of the children depicted appear to be from infant to 14 years of age. The images primarily consisted of young female and/or male children posing nude and engaging in sexually explicit acts and rape, both heterosexual and homosexual, with other children and/or adults.
Examples of the file names and descriptions of the files include an image: that depicts an erect penis penetrating the anus of a young child, approximately 4 years of age; that depicts a hand holding an erect penis which is penetrating the vagina of an infant; that depicts a male horse straddling a naked girl, approximately 10 years of age. The horse’s erect member is touching the girl’s thigh and stomach; that depicts a naked girl, approximately 4 years of age, bound and gagged. There is also an unknown object penetrating her vagina.
Computer Movie Files
Approximately 456 movie files were identified in allocated space as being suspected child pornography or belonging to a set of suspected child pornography movies. Of the 456 movie files identified, 56 were previously identified Suspected child pornography movie maintained by the National Child Victim Identification Program, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and others. Of the 456 movie files, 6 movies were suspect child pornography movies depicting bondage scenes. The length of these movie files ranged from a few seconds to over 50 minutes long.
Examples of the movie file names and descriptions of a sampling of the total identified files include: a 50-minute movie file that depicts several young girls, approximately 5 to 12 years of age, being vaginally penetrated by a vibrator; a 32-minute movie file that depicts a several young girls and one boy engaging in various sex acts including oral sex, vaginal and anal sex with foreign objects (The children in this movie are from approximately 7 to 13 years of age.); a 5-minute movie file that depicts an approximately 2 old year naked boy whose arms and legs are tied to a table while an adult male masturbates over the boy until he ejaculates on the boy’s buttocks; a movie file that depicts a girl, approximately 3 years of age being sodomized by an adult male while the girl’s legs and arms are tied.
Also seized were cameras located in Hawkins’ bedroom/shed and contained stored images created to a flash media card. Each of these movies depicted one or two small girls, approximately 3 to 5 years of age. Four of the movies were filmed in the dark with a flashlight illuminated the genitalia of the girl. Three of the movie files were filmed in daylight. All seven movies show the same girl, apparently asleep. Most of the movies include the producer’s hand which repeatedly touches sleeping girl’s labia. The creation date for each of the images is January 17, 2004. This date is not necessarily accurate, as the camera’s user can choose any date during the set up procedure.
Additionally, four movies were identified that appeared to have been filmed in a hotel room. Each depicted the exposed buttocks and genitalia of a girl, approximately five years of age. A hand appears in each movie and spreads open the labia. Hawkins admitted that he produced this child pornography involving the lascivious display of the minor's genitalia.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Madison T. Sewell and was investigated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
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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