Wilmington Man Indicted on Child Pornography Charges

United States Attorney Charles M. Oberly, III, announced that Harold Love Springer, III, age 73 of Wilmington, Delaware was indictedi by a Grand Jury yesterday, on charges of transportation, receipt, and possession of child pornography, in violation of federal law. Springer is a fonner Executive Director of the Children's Beach House, in Lewes, Delaware.

According to the indictment and court documents filed in the case, Springer was identified by agents from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations during an online investigation into a computer network devoted to trading images of child pornography. During that investigation, an undercover agent observed approximately 2000 files depicting child pornography that Springer had made available to network members. The agent downloaded 92 of the files depicting child pornography. On July 13, 2011, law enforcement agents executed a search warrant at Springer's Wilmington residence and seized computer equipment.

If convicted, Springer faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 5 years imprisonment and a maximum tenn of imprisonment of 20 years. Springer also faces a maximum fine of $250,000, and at least 5 years, up to a lifetime, of supervised release upon the completion of any prison sentence. Springer has been temporarily detained pending a court hearing scheduled for Monday, August 8th at 11 :00 a.m.