Brian Musomba Maweu, Child Exploitation, Louisiana 2015

SHREVEPORT, La. — In a disturbing case of child exploitation, a Kenyan national has pleaded guilty to charges of engaging in a child exploitation enterprise. Brian Musomba Maweu, 51, of Kenya, was recently extradited to the United States from Kenya and appeared before U.S. District Judge S. Maurice Hicks Jr.

According to evidence presented at the guilty plea, Maweu, using the online alias “Catfish,” made 121 posts on the Dreamboard site, which he joined on January 18, 2009. Of those posts, 34 were of child pornography he produced himself. Maweu was considered a “Super VIP” level member of the Dreamboard site.

Maweu faces 20 years to life in prison, not less than five years to not more than life of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine. A sentencing date of July 14, 2015 was set.

The charges against Maweu were the result of Operation Delego, an investigation launched in December 2009 that targeted individuals around the world for their participation in Dreamboard. The board was a private, members-only, online bulletin board that was created and operated to promote pedophilia and encourage the sexual abuse of very young children in an environment designed to avoid law enforcement detection.

A total of 72 individuals, including Maweu, were charged as a result of Operation Delego. To date, 57 of the 72 charged defendants have been arrested in the United States and abroad. Eight of the 57 are in the process of being extradited to the United States. Forty-eight individuals have pleaded guilty, and one was convicted after trial.

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the U.S. government. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys John Luke Walker and Michael O’Mara of the Western District of Louisiana and Trial Attorney Keith Becker of the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS).

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