William Travis Brown, Possessing Child Pornography, Indiana 2009

Wanted: Justice for the victims of child pornography. That's what one Indiana man won't be serving for the next 20 years. William Travis Brown, 39, of Sellersburg, Ind., was sentenced to 20 years in prison and lifetime supervised release to follow his prison term for transporting and possessing child pornography.

A federal jury in Indianapolis convicted Brown on July 23, 2009 of one count of transportation and one count of possession of child pornography. 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 federal government.

According to evidence presented during the four-day trial, investigators discovered more than 1,000 images and videos depicting the sexual abuse of minors. The images and videos were obtained through searches on March 20, 2007 of Brown's rented house in Georgetown, Ind., and the seizure of a computer and CDs. In addition, evidence introduced at trial revealed that Brown used different Internet technologies to chat and trade the images with others online.

Brown was tried before U.S. District Court Chief Judge David F. Hamilton. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven D. DeBrota of the Southern District of Indiana and Trial Attorney Bonnie L. Kane of the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS). The case was investigated by ICE, the Indiana State Police, CEOS's High Tech Investigative Unit and the FBI.

The case against Brown is a stark reminder of the horrors of child pornography and the importance of holding perpetrators accountable. As we continue to combat this heinous crime, we must also remember the victims and their families who have been impacted by this devastating epidemic.

The federal government's Project Safe Childhood initiative aims to marshal 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. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/indiana-man-sentenced-20-years-prison-transporting-and-possessing-child-pornography