Beyond the dark and twisted world of crime, a Kokomo man, Brandon Tooley, 32, has been charged by information with one count of distribution of sexually explicit material involving minors.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office, led by Joseph H. Hogsett, announced the charges as part of their ongoing ‘Operation Community Watch,’ a federal effort to reduce the abuse of Hoosier children through innovative investigative techniques and aggressive prosecution.
The information alleges that between August 1, 2013, and October 7, 2013, Tooley sent emails to others containing visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Court documents indicate that the government has filed a forfeiture allegation identifying computer equipment used in the offense that the government will seek to seize from Tooley if he is convicted.
Assistant U.S. Attorney MaryAnn T. Mindrum is prosecuting the case for the government. Tooley faces no less than five and up to twenty years in federal prison if the Court accepts a guilty plea. Federal law also mandates that individuals convicted of child exploitation pay restitution to their victims. In addition, Tooley faces a sentence of up to lifetime supervised release, and must comply with state and federal requirements as a registered sexual offender.
This arrest comes one year after Hogsett announced a comprehensive crackdown on child exploitation in Indiana. In 2013, he launched ‘Operation Community Watch,’ which has allowed prosecutors and investigators to use cutting-edge techniques to identify and charge people in Hoosier communities who are engaged in the receipt and trafficking of child pornography materials.
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a larger nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Hogsett pointed out that in the last Project Safe Childhood reporting year, the Office prosecuted 52 defendants, an increase of 37% over the prior year, and 49 defendants were convicted and sentenced. These are all-time records for the Office.
Related Federal Cases
- Joel D. Hilton, Child Pornography Production and Distribution, Indiana 2018 · Indiana
- Joshua J. Walker, Child Pornography Possession and Distribution, Indiana 2016 · Indiana
- Phillip Steven Allen, Child Pornography Production and Distribution, Washington 2011 · Indiana
- Alan E. Claridge, Jr., Possession of Child Pornography, Indiana 2017 · Indiana
- Brady Leon Beck Jr, Child Pornography Manufacturing and Distribution, North Carolina 2016 · Indiana
Key Facts
- State: Indiana
- Category: Sex Crimes, Cybercrime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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