United States Attorney David Capp

Northern District of Indiana

5400 Federal Plaza, Suite 1500

Hammond, Indiana 46320

Hammond South Bend Fort Wayne

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Mary Hatton

August 30, 2012 PHONE: (219) 937-5603

www.usdoj.gov/usao/inn/ FAX (219) 852-2770

MAN SENTENCED TO IN CHILD PORNOGRAPHY CASE

Hammond, Indiana - United States Attorney David Capp announced that Randall Ray Fletcher, Jr., 38, of Rensselaer, Indiana, was sentenced by District Judge Joseph Van Bokkelen to 360 months imprisonment and lifetime supervised release after pleading guilty without benefit of a plea agreement to the manufacture of child pornography, receipt of child pornography and possession of child pornography. Fletcher was charged via Superseding Indictment with 5 counts detailing his exploitation of children over a period spanning approximately seven years.

According to the Sentencing Memorandum filed by the government in this case, Fletcher had a history of violent behaviors and pursued sexual relationships with minor girls as early as age 21. In 1995 Fletcher was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder after he hatched a plan to shoot and kill the mother of a then-15 year-old girl he was having a sexual relationship with. Just seven years later, Fletcher, while still on probation for the conspiracy to commit murder, was discovered to be acquiring a vast collection of images and videos featuring minor children engaging in sexually explicit conduct. The federal investigation that began in 2008 revealed that Fletcher continued to collect this illegal material even after his home was searched by law enforcement, his computer and numerous CD-Roms and printed images of child pornography were seized, and criminal charges were brought against him based on his possession of the contraband. In 2009, upon learning from his parents that law enforcement had paid them a visit to inquire about images recovered from his seized computer, Fletcher downloaded encryption software and set about attempting to hide a massive collection of well over 400,000 child pornography images rather than destroy them.

"This lengthy sentence underscores our commitment to target predators who callously exploit innocent children to satisfy their own depraved desires," said Gary Hartwig, special agent in charge of HSI Chicago. "Fortunately, Mr. Fletcher will spend the next 30 years behind bars preventing him from robbing any other children of their innocence."

This case resulted from an investigation by members of the Indiana Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, including ICE-Department of Homeland Security Investigations.  This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jill Koster.

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.