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Press Release

Fresno Man Sentenced To 25 Years In Prison For Child Pornography Trafficking

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of California

FRESNO, Calif. — United States District Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill today sentenced Bradley Allen Vaine, 28, of Fresno, to 25 years in prison, to be followed by a lifetime term of supervised release, for receiving and distributing child pornography, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.

According to the plea agreement, on October 25 and 27, 2012, Vaine received and distributed images of child pornography over the Internet. He transmitted more than 600 images of child pornography, some of the images depicted prepubescent minors, and some were of violence or sadistic or masochistic conduct. He has been detained as a danger to the community and a flight risk since his arrest on November 6, 2012.

This case is the product of an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Assistant United States Attorney David Gappa prosecuted the case.

“Individuals involved in receiving and distributing child pornography cause severe and lasting damage to their vulnerable victims,” said Michael J. Toms, the acting assistant special agent in charge who oversees HSI Fresno.  “Fortunately, the lengthy sentence imposed today virtually assures that no additional children will be harmed by this defendant.”

This case was brought as part of Operation Sunflower, an international enforcement action, which ran from November 1 through December 7, 2012, spearheaded by HSI and aimed at rescuing victims and targeting individuals who own, trade, and produce child pornography. Operation Sunflower commemorated the one-year anniversary of a Kansas preteen victim who was located based upon a sunflower-shaped highway sign in the background of a picture. The prosecution was also part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc. Click on the “resources” tab for information about Internet safety education

Updated April 8, 2015

Press Release Number: Docket #: 1:12-cr-403 LJO