Two Sentenced For Distribution Of Child Pornography

FRESNO, Calif. — Two defendants were sentenced today for child pornography offenses, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.

“Every time a sexually explicit image of a minor is produced, transmitted, or viewed, a child is victimized,” said Ray Greenlee, assistant special agent in charge for HSI San Francisco. “These sentences send a strong message to online child sex predators that there is a high price to pay for their actions.  HSI will continue to work tirelessly to seek justice for those who mistakenly believe the Internet makes them invisible and invincible.”

Kern County Man Sentenced to More than 12 Years in Prison
(1:13-cr-265 AWI)

Senior United States District Judge Anthony W. Ishii sentenced Clark Alan Tyler, 53, of Rosamond, to 12 years and seven months in prison for distribution of child pornography.

According to court documents, between February 2012 and March 2013, Tyler received and distributed more than 600 images depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. The images also involved the portrayal of sadistic, masochistic, and other depictions of violence, and included depictions of pre-pubescent minors. Tyler was indicted on June 27, 2013, charged with receipt and distribution of child pornography and pleaded guilty to this charge on November 25, 2013. He has been in custody since July 3, 2013.

Fresno Man Sentenced to Six and a Half Years in Prison for Distributing Child Pornography
(1:12-cr-083 AWI)

Judge Ishii sentenced Daniel Oluwa Sesan Leitch, 31, of Fresno, to six and a half years in prison for distribution of child pornography.

According to court documents, from December 18, 2011, through December 20, 2011, Leitch received more than 600 images depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. The images also involved the portrayal of sadistic, masochistic, and other depictions of violence, and included depictions of pre-pubescent minors. Leitch was indicted on October 23, 2013, and in March  2012, he went to trial but pleaded guilty on the second day of trial. He was remanded into custody after sentencing today.

These cases were the product of investigations by the Central California Internet Crimes Against Children Task force with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Assistant United States Attorney Brian W. Enos prosecuted both cases, and Special Assistant United States Attorney Ian P. Whitney was co-prosecutor on the Leitch case.

These cases were 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.