Rocklin Man Pleads Guilty to Child Pornography Offense

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Paul Ross Pacini, 46, of Rocklin, pleaded guilty today to receipt of child pornography, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.

According to court documents, an undercover investigation revealed that in June through August of 2013, Pacini used a peer-to-peer file-sharing network to share more than 300 files of pictures and videos depicting the sexual exploitation of children, including videos involving children under the age of 10. A search warrant executed at Pacini’s home revealed that his computers contained more than 2,500 images and more than 900 videos depicting the sexual abuse of children, and that at various times many of those videos were made available to others over the Internet through a file-sharing network.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department's Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. Assistant United States Attorney André M. Espinosa is prosecuting the case.

Pacini is scheduled to be sentenced on October 7, 2015, by United States District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller. Pacini faces a possible sentence of five to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

This case was brought as 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.usdoj.gov/psc. Click on the “resources” tab for information about Internet safety education.