Louisville Man Charged With Enticement, Production, Distribution And Possession Of Child Pornography

Defendant used 16 different minors to produce child pornography using social media

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – A Louisville man previously employed by a parochial high school located in Jefferson County, Kentucky, as a high school teacher and assistant coach with the school’s athletics department, was charged in a felony Information, filed on July 31, 2015, with violating child exploitation laws, announced United States Attorney John E. Kuhn, Jr.  Under certain circumstances a person can be charged by Information rather than Indictment.  The case, Criminal Action Number 3:15CR-83-DJH, will be set for an arraignment and change of plea hearing by further Order of the Court.

Patrick Newman, age 33, had previously been charged by Criminal Complaint with engaging in unlawful online communications resulting in the production of child pornography with a 13-year-old male (“John Doe”).  He now faces 16 counts of knowingly using, persuading, inducing, enticing, or coercing minors to produce child pornography that was transported in interstate or foreign commerce.  The charges involve 16 different victims. Additionally, Newman is charged with online enticement, distributing and possessing child pornography.

According to the Affidavit attached to the criminal complaint, the investigation started earlier this year when the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received a CyberTip from Twitter, Inc. regarding the upload of child pornography materials to VINE (a video sharing website owned by Twitter) from the same IP address in Texas, between 12-28-2014 and 12-30-2014.  Law enforcement officials in Texas identified the child depicted in the images and later identified Newman as the adult who had been communicating with the child and obtaining sexually explicit images of the child.

Law enforcement officials executed a federal search warrant on Newman’s Louisville home.  Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) arrested  Newman that same day.  He has remained in federal custody since June 1, 2015.

Upon conviction, Newman faces a mandatory minimum prison term of 15 years followed by 5 years of Supervised Release.  The maximum potential penalties are life in prison, a $4,750,000.00 fine, and up to and including a life period of Supervised Release.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jo E. Lawless and is being investigated by HSI Louisville Division of the Department of Homeland Security.

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 individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc  For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."

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The charging of a person by an Information is an accusation

 only and that person is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.