GEORGE E. B. HOLDING

CONTACT: 919/856-4530

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

WEDNESDAY - September 5, 2007

TARBORO MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO CHILD PORN CHARGES

RALEIGH – On September 4, 2007, DANIEL RAY HYMAN of Tarboro, Edgecombe County, North Carolina, pled guilty to a single count of receipt of child pornography over the Internet in violation of Title 18 of the United States Code, §2552(a)(2), before United States District Court Senior Judge James C. Fox. HYMAN was charged with using his computer to receive the material in November of 2006.

HYMAN was detected as part of a nationwide operation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) known as Operation Emissary. Operation Emissary arose when ICE learned of a commercial website selling access to child pornography and was able to identify subscribers to the site nationwide. HYMAN was identified as a subscriber, which led to his arrest.

Responding to the plea, United States Attorney George E. B. Holding stated, “Our office is committed to bringing to bear every resource necessary to combat the proliferation of this material in our district. People who collect child pornography are doing nothing less than taking joy in the sight of the rape and sexual abuse of children. This is a serious crime with serious implications for the safety of our children, and we will continue to treat it accordingly.”

HYMAN will be sentenced on December 10, 2007 before Judge Fox. He faces a minimum of 5 years and up to a maximum of 20 years’ imprisonment.

This case is part of the Project Safe Childhood initiative, a national program aimed at ensuring that criminals exploiting children are effectively prosecuted by making full use of all available law enforcement resources at every level. For more information about this important national project, Project Safe Childhood, go to www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

Investigation of the case was conducted by the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, and Edgecombe County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U. S. Attorney Jay Exum handled the case for the Government.

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