LOUISVILLE, KY – United States District Judge John G. Heyburn, II, sentenced a Taylorsville man today to 97 months in prison followed by a life term of supervised release for violating federal child exploitation laws announced David J. Hale, United States Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky. There is no parole in the federal criminal justice system.

On December 21, 2011, a federal grand jury in Louisville returned a two-count Indictment against Kenneth Wood, Jr., 46, charging him with receiving and possessing child pornography. Wood pled guilty to the charges in United States District Court on March 1, 2012.

The Indictment alleged that on or about June 29, 2010, Wood knowingly received child pornography, as that term is defined under federal law, using the Internet. The Indictment also charged him with knowingly possessing child pornography on or about January 28, 2011. According to an Affidavit filed by a Special Agent with the United States Secret Service in support of a federal Search Warrant and the sentencing hearing held earlier today, law enforcement officials became aware of Wood’s criminal conduct when the Taylorsville Police Department received a complaint from a resident against Kenneth Wood, Jr., in January 2011. The complainant advised law enforcement that Wood had engaged in improper contact with several minors (ages 7 - 11). On January 28, 2011, the Taylorsville Police Chief and a lieutenant interviewed Wood at his residence in Taylorsville, Kentucky. The law enforcement officers advised Wood of his constitutional rights as set out in Miranda. He waived his rights in writing and also signed a consent to search form for his home and computer equipment. During the interview, Wood admitted that there was child pornography on his computers. Later forensic analysis revealed the presence of numerous still images and videos of child pornography.

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.

Assistant United States Attorney Jo E. Lawless prosecuted the case. The Taylorsville Police Department conducted the investigation with forensic support from the United States Secret Service.

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