UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
EASTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI

CATHERINE L. HANAWAY
United States Attorney

Department of Justice Seal
NEWS RELEASE

For further information: Call Public Affairs Officer Jan Diltz at (314) 539-7719

December 16, 2008
For Immediate Release

JEFFERSON COUNTY MAN INDICTED ON FEDERAL CHILD PORNOGRAPHY CHARGES

St. Louis, MO: Christopher Russell was indicted on federal charges of possession of child pornography, United States Attorney Catherine L. Hanaway announced today.

CHRISTOPHER RUSSELL, Imperial, Missouri, was indicted by a federal grand jury on two felony counts of possession of child pornography.  He was arrested by the FBI agents this morning and appeared in federal court this afternoon.

If convicted, each count carries a maximum penalty of ten years in prison and/or fines up to $250,000.

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.      

Hanaway commended the work performed on the case by St. Louis County Police Department, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Assistant United States Attorney Allison Behrens, who is handling the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations, and each defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.