Green Bay Man Indicted on Sexual Exploitation of a Child and Pornography Charges

United States Attorney James L. Santelle of the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced that on January 20, 2015, a federal grand jury returned a four-count indictment against Joseph J. Valdez (age: 29) of Green Bay, Wisconsin, charging him with three counts of sexual exploitation of a child in violation of Title 18 United States Code Section 2251(a) and a single count of possession of child pornography in violation of Title 18 United States Code Section 2252A (a)(5)(B). If convicted of the exploitation offenses, as to each count the defendant faces a sentence of between fifteen and thirty years imprisonment, a $250,000, and between five years and a lifetime of supervised release. Conviction on the possession offense carries penalties of up to ten years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and between five years and a lifetime of supervised release.   

The indictment alleges that Valdez knowingly coerced underage females to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing a visual depiction of that conduct, as well as knowingly possessing numerous images of child pornography.  

The case was investigated by the Seymour Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel R. Humble.

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 U.S. Department of Justice.  Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the 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. 

An indictment is only a charge and not evidence of guilt.  The defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.