GEORGE E. B. HOLDING
CONTACT: 919/856-4530
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Thursday - April 12, 2007
MAN SENTENCED TO 120-MONTH IMPRISONMENT
IN CHILD PORN CASE
RALEIGH – United States Attorney George E. B. Holding announced that in federal court here on April 10, 2007, Senior United States District Judge James C. Fox sentenced BRIAN FREDERIC DELUCA of Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina to a 120-month prison term.
A Criminal Information filed by the United States Attorney’s Office on December 12, 2006, charged DELUCA with downloading child pornography over the Internet. DELUCA pled guilty to the charges on January 16, 2007.
DELUCA’s arrest was precipitated by Operation Emissary, an operation of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) that identified a website engaged in the sale of child pornography. Evidence recovered from the investigation of that site produced leads to suspects nationwide who downloaded and/or trafficked in the material it provided. That information showed that DELUCA had subscribed to the website, providing his name, email address and credit card number to gain access. With this information in hand, ICE obtained and executed a search warrant at DELUCA’s residence. A subsequent examination of DELUCA’s personal computer revealed a collection of over 3,500 images of child pornography, predominantly depicting prepubescent child victims. Some children were depicted in sadomasochistic bondage.
The successful investigation was a joint effort coordinated by the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, the United States Postal Inspector’s Service, the Fuquay-Varina Police Department, and the office of the Wake County District Attorney.
“We would like to thank our Project Safe Childhood partners for making this case a success,” said George Holding, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina. “This is a case that was originated by a federal agency but was immediately embraced and supported by state and local law enforcement, who played an equal part in obtaining this result. Only by continuing to work together this way can we maximize our effectiveness in protecting the children in our community.”
Project Safe Childhood, a national program announced by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales earlier this year, is aimed at ensuring that child exploitation criminals are effectively prosecuted by making full use of all available law enforcement resources at every level. More information about Project Safe Childhood can be found at www.projectsafechildhood.gov/a>
News releases are available on the U. S. Attorney’s web page at www.usdoj.gov/usao/nce within 48 hours of release.
