DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

ACTING UNITED STATES ATTORNEY EDWARD R. RYAN
WESTERN DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2009

CONTACT: SUELLEN PIERCE
704.338.3120
FAX 704.227.0264

MATTHEWS MAN SENTENCED TO OVER SIX YEARS IN FEDERAL PRISON AFTER PLEADING GUILTY TO ONE COUNT OF POSSESSION OF CHILD PORNOGRAPHY North Carolinian Charged as Operation Emissary Defendant CHARLOTTE, NC - A Matthews, North Carolina man, Andrew Lee Moore, 29, was sentenced on Tuesday to six years and eight months in federal prison for possession of child pornography, Acting U.S. Attorney Edward R. Ryan announced today. Moore was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Frank D. Whitney of the Western District of North Carolina. Joining Ryan in making today’s announcement is Del Richburg, Assistant Special Agent in Charge, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Charlotte Office.

Moore was charged in 2007 with one count of possessing child pornography as the result of Operation Emissary, an ICE nationwide investigation targeting a Web site that offered images and movies of hardcore child pornography for a fee.

On October 31, 2007, Moore pled guilty to one count of possession of child pornography, and on Tuesday, March 17, the court sentenced Moore to 80 months in prison, to be followed by a life term of supervised release. The court also ordered the defendant to register as a sexual offender. Moore has been in federal custody since he entered his guilty plea, and remains in custody pending designation of the federal prison where he will serve his sentence.

Operation Emissary, which began in 2006, focused on a commercial Web site offering access to videos and images of hardcore child pornography. The Web site alerted would-be subscribers that subscribing to the Web site was illegal and warned them to be discreet about their purchases. Investigators targeted individuals like Moore who subscribed to the Web site over a period of approximately two to three months at the end of 2005 and 2006. To date, nationwide, there have been more than 330 convictions of Emissary defendants spanning 40 states. 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. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimlani Ford.