FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
APRIL 24, 2007
CONTACT: SUELLEN PIERCE
704.338.3120
FAX 704.227.0264
TWO MEN SENTENCED TO FEDERAL PRISON TERMS
FOR POSSESSION OF CHILD PORNOGRAPHY
Two Separate Prosecutions Each Yield Prison Terms in Excess of Five Years
CHARLOTTE, NC - Kenneth Mark Fisher was sentenced to 87 months in federal prison, and Charles Timothy Childers was sentenced to 78 months in federal prison, each for possession of child pornography, U.S. Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert announced. The defendants were also sentenced to 15 and 10 years of supervised release, respectively. Indicted and arrested in March 2006 on one count alleging possession of child pornography, Kenneth Mark Fisher resided in Charlotte at the time and had been employed by US Airways. Charles Timothy Childers was indicted in U.S. Court in January 2006 on one count alleging possession of child pornography and had been self employed. Both men entered pleas of guilty as charged. These federal prosecutions were brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In February 2006, Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys 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/. These cases were prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimlani M. Ford, and investigated by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. United States Attorney Gretchen Shappert praised the agents and prosecutor who worked on these two investigations. “Significant prison sentences followed by lengthy periods of court-ordered supervision are entirely appropriate for individuals who possess child pornography. The possession of child pornography is an extremely serious crime. Each time those pictures are viewed, a child is victimized and degraded yet again, because each viewing is a successive de-humanization of a child. A compassionate, civil society cannot tolerate the degradation of its most vulnerable members–our children.”