Sacramento Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Receipt Of Child Pornography

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Albert Lee Mitchell, 69, of Sacramento, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller to 10 years in prison to be followed by a lifetime of supervised release, for receipt of child pornography, Acting U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

A federal jury found Mitchell guilty after a five-day trial in June 2016. According to evidence presented at trial, on November 5, 2012, agents executed at a search warrant at Mitchell’s residence after they identified an IP address located there offering files of child pornography. At the time of the search, dozens of images of suspected child pornography were set to be downloaded from a file-sharing network on Mitchell’s computer. Mitchell admitted to ownership of the computer and to being its sole user. A forensic review of the computer and other devices found in Mitchell’s home office revealed a collection of thousands of depictions of child pornography.

Mitchell obstructed justice by lying under oath at trial and trying to blame a former friend for his crime. To bolster his defense, Mitchell testified about a computer password that he alleged his friend had stolen. Mitchell presented a defense suggesting that the password had then been found in a box containing his friend’s belongings.

“Not only did the defendant have no regard for his victims, but he also blatantly disrespected the judicial system. The sentence that was handed down was well deserved,” said Ryan L. Spradlin, special agent in charge of HSI San Francisco. “HSI continues to work diligently with our law enforcement partners to pursue sexual predators who take advantage of innocent children.”

At sentencing, Judge Mueller found that Mitchell committed a serious crime and compounded it by presenting a perjured defense at trial. She commented that Mitchell had a right to go to trial, but that he “didn’t have the right to obstruct justice,” which she noted was a “significant aggravating factor.” Judge Mueller also found that the images had been carefully catalogued and arranged, indicating an “obsessive interaction” with the images.

This case was the product of an investigation by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Assistant U.S. Attorneys Audrey B. Hemesath and Josh F. Sigal prosecuted the case.

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.