Oldham County, Kentucky, Resident Guilty Of Possessing, Transporting And Advertising Images Of Child Pornography

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – United States Attorney John E. Kuhn, Jr., announced today that an Oldham County, Kentucky resident pleaded guilty in United States District Court this week, before Senior Judge Thomas B. Russell, to charges including the possession, transportation and advertising of images containing child pornography.

According to the factual basis of the plea agreement, Richard Wayne Johnson, admitted to receiving and possessing thousands of images (still and video) of child pornography and further admitted to advertising those images over the Internet.

A Cybertip from AOL indicated that a user was transferring child pornography by e:mail. The e:mail traced back to Johnson. He transported child pornography via e:mail on January 19, 2012. A further review of Johnson’s e:mail account (which he later admitted was his), traced to an online group where Johnson was posting requests for the trading of child pornography. One of the advertisements occurred on September 13, 2013. In the posts, Johnson included “albums” (folders filled with images of child pornography). He provided descriptions of the contents in the message – but a password was required to open the albums. Individuals interested in trading child pornography with Johnson had to contact him directly to obtain the password for Johnson’s “album.”

Law enforcement officials executed a state search warrant at Johnson’s home on or about September 17, 2013 and a forensic examination of Johnson’s computers, and other digital devices, revealed thousands of images of child pornography that he had obtained from the Internet.

According to the plea agreement, at the time of sentencing, the United States will ask for a sentence of 30 years’ incarceration and an agreed upon life time period of supervised release.

Sentencing is scheduled before Senior Judge Russell, in Louisville, on July 17, 2017.

Assistant United States Attorney Jo E. Lawless is prosecuting this case and Kentucky State Police is investigating.

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.