GEORGE E. B. HOLDING

CONTACT: 919/856-4530

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

TUESDAY - MAY 8, 2007

MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO CHILD PORNOGRAPHY CHARGES

RALEIGH – United States Attorney George E. B. Holding announced that on May 7, 2007, PHILIP ERIC PERRY of Whiteville, Columbus County, North Carolina, pled guilty to charges of receipt and possession of images of child pornography downloaded from the internet before Senior United States District Judge Earl Britt. The charges relate to conduct that occurred during September of 2003. PERRY, who in 2004 pled guilty in Columbus County to four counts of taking indecent liberties with minors, was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a national program aimed at ensuring that child exploitation criminals are effectively prosecuted by making full use of all available law enforcement resources at every level, whether state, federal or local.

“This case could not have been brought without the careful attention of our PSC partners,” said George Holding, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina. “The matter was brought to us in 2006 by the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) and the Columbus County District Attorney’s office, both of whom then worked with us, the Columbus County Sheriff’s Office, and the FBI to achieve this result. It represents a great example of our ability to better protect the children of our community when we communicate and work together to across jurisdictional lines to achieve our common goals.”

PERRY’s sentencing is tentatively scheduled for August 6, 2007. More information about Project Safe Childhood can be found at www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

News releases are available on the U. S. Attorney’s web page at www.usdoj.gov/usao/nce within 48 hours of release.