Home Cleveland Press Releases 2010 Federal Inmate Indicted on Child Pornograhy Charges
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Federal Inmate Indicted on Child Pornograhy Charges

U.S. Attorney’s Office March 10, 2010
  • Northern District of Ohio (216) 622-3600

Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, announced today that a federal grand jury in Cleveland, Ohio, returned a one-count indictment charging William J. Platz, age 61, of Indiana, with producing and distributing obscene visual representations of the sexual abuse of children.

The indictment charges that from on or about August 1, 2007, through on or about April 30, 2008, while an inmate at Elkton Federal Correctional Institution, Platz did draw and distribute, to another inmate, several visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, which depictions were obscene.

The charge carries a penalty of five to 20 years' imprisonment, five years to lifetime supervised release, and up to a $250,000 fine.

If convicted, the defendant's sentence will be determined by the court after review of factors unique to this case, including the defendants’ prior criminal record, if any; the defendants’ role in the offense; and the characteristics of the violation. In all cases the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases it will be less than the maximum.

This case is being prosecuted by Northern District of Ohio Assistant United States Attorney Michael A. Sullivan. The case was investigated by the Youngstown office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

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