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Fred Woolum, 59, Sentenced to 15 Years for Child Exploitation Enterprise
A 15-year prison sentence has been handed down to Fred Woolum, a 59-year-old man from Lexington, Virginia, for engaging in a child exploitation enterprise. The sentencing took place on July 22, 2010 in the Western District of Pennsylvania.
Woolum pleaded guilty to one count of engaging in a child exploitation enterprise before U.S. District Court Judge Arthur J. Schwab. According to court documents and proceedings, Woolum and others distributed images and videos of children being sexually abused to other members of an international group that had restricted membership and was formed on a social networking website.
The group distributed thousands of sexually explicit images and videos of children, many of which graphically depicted prepubescent, male children, including some infants, being sexually abused and sometimes sodomized or subjected to bondage.
The case was investigated by HSI in Pittsburgh and the High Technology Investigative Unit of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS). Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig W. Haller of the Western District of Pennsylvania and CEOS Trial Attorney Andrew McCormack prosecuted the case.
This 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 Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.
Woolum was sentenced to 15 years in prison and a lifetime of supervised release. This case serves as a reminder of the serious consequences of child exploitation and the efforts of law enforcement to bring perpetrators to justice.
Key Facts
- State: Pennsylvania
- Category: Sex Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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