January 5, 2012

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - On January 4, 2012, a federal grand jury in Knoxville, returned a 38 count indictment against Euell Kenneth Cox, Jr., 47, of Dunlap, Tenn., for receipt of child pornography. Cox appeared in court January 5, 2012, before U.S. Magistrate Judge William B. Carter and entered a plea of not guilty to the charges in the indictment. He was held pending a detention hearing. Trial was set for March 13, 2012, in U.S. District Court, in Chattanooga, Tenn.

If convicted, Cox faces a minimum of five years and up to 20 years in prison per count, a fine of up to $250,000 and at least five years and up to life of supervised release.

This indictment is the result of an investigation by the Winchester Police Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Sequatchie County Sheriff’s Department and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney John P. MacCoon represents the United States.

Members of the public are reminded that an indictment constitutes only charges and that every person is presumed innocent until their guilt has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

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.