Murray County man pleads guilty to producing child pornography

ROME, Ga. - Daniel Strickland has pleaded guilty to producing child pornography of two minors in his care. A federal grand jury had indicted Strickland in November 2019.

“Strickland produced child pornography of children under his supervision,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “By bringing this perpetrator to justice, we hope this will be at least a small step toward the victims living a normal life.”

“Much of our success in bringing defendants like this to justice is because of our partnerships with local and state law enforcement agencies like the Murray County Sheriff Office,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. ‘We will never relax our combined resources when it comes to protecting a vulnerable and defenseless child.”

“It is of the utmost importance of the Murray County Sheriff’s Office to provide safety and security to each and every one of our citizens, especially our children,” said Murray County Sheriff Gary Langford.

According to U.S. Attorney Pak, the charges, and other information presented in court: The Murray County, Georgia, Sheriff's Office and the FBI learned in February 2019, that Strickland had allegedly abused a minor girl who was under his care. A subsequent investigation revealed that Strickland took sexually explicit photos of this minor girl, and another minor girl, that he previously babysat. In July 2019, Strickland pleaded guilty to two counts of child molestation arising from these incidents in Murray County Superior Court.

Daniel Strickland, 46, of Chatsworth, Georgia, pleaded guilty to two counts of producing child pornography before U.S. District Court Judge Steven D. Grimberg. Under the terms of Strickland’s plea agreement, the government and Strickland are recommending that the Court impose a sentence of between 20 and 25 years in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for September 16, 2020, at 10:00 a.m.

Anyone with information, or who may have been a victim in this case, please contact the Murray County Sheriff’s Office 706-695-4592 or the Federal Bureau of Investigation at 770-216-3000.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Murray County Sheriff’s Office are investigating this case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alex R. Sistla and Nicholas Hartigan are prosecuting the case.

This case is being brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In February 2006, the Attorney General launched Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse.  Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices around the country, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.