Fairfax Man Indicted For Production Of Child Pornography

            ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Padraic Collins, 46, of Fairfax, Va., was indicted today by a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia for production of child pornography after Collins allegedly was found to be in possession of child pornography videos while crossing the border into Canada.

            Dana J. Boente, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Scot R. Rittenberg, Acting Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Washington, made the announcement after the grand jury returned the indictment to United States Magistrate Judge T. Rawles Jones, Jr.

            Collins faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison and a maximum of 30 years in prison if convicted.

            According to court documents, HSI Washington received information from HSI Toronto regarding Collins, a Fairfax resident, at the Lansdowne, Canada Port of Entry.  Collins was arrested by the Canadian Border Services Agency for importing and possessing child pornography files on a handheld video camera and a laptop.  The videos allegedly show Collins engaging in sexual activity with an underage girl.  HSI Washington, in coordination with HSI Toronto and the Ottawa Provincial Police, determined the identity of the 11-year-old female in the videos.  The victim identified Collins as her abuser and confirmed the details of the sexual abuse, including that it took place in Springfield, Va.

            The investigation was conducted by HSI Washington, with assistance from HSI Toronto, HSI Buffalo, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Ottawa Provincial Police and the U.S. Marshals Service.  Special Assistant United States Attorney Alicia J. Yass, a Trial Attorney with the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section of the U.S. Justice Department’s Criminal Division, is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.

            Criminal indictments are only charges and not evidence of guilt.  A defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty.

            This prosecution is 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 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.

            A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae.  Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.