Urbana, Ill. – A Champaign, Illinois man was taken into federal custody yesterday afternoon following trial. After deliberating less than two hours, a jury returned guilty verdicts against Scott Halliday, 35, of Quince Drive, on two counts of receiving child pornography and one count of possessing child pornography. Halliday, who was arrested on May 14, 2009, had been on bond with special conditions pending trial.

Over two days of testimony, the government presented evidence that Halliday received and possessed images of child pornography including approximately 1½ hours of videos collected over a six-week period. Among the images were graphic scenes of young children held in bondage and physically assaulted.

Sentencing is scheduled for May 18, 2010. The mandatory minimum statutory penalty for each count of receiving child pornography is five years in prison and up to 20 years in prison. For possession of child pornography, the statutory penalty is up to 10 years in prison. Both offenses carry terms of supervised release of up to life following the term of imprisonment.

The charges were investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Illinois Attorney General’s Office and the Champaign Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elly M. Peirson is prosecuting the case.

The 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.