Denver Man Indicted for Transporting and Possessing Child Pornography

DENVER—James Matthew Allen, age 23, of Denver, Colorado, was indicted by a federal grand jury earlier this week on charges of transportation and possession of child pornography. Allen is currently in state custody and is about to serve a one-year state prison sentence for failure to register as a sex offender.

According to the federal indictment, on August 5, 2010, Allen knowingly transported child pornography affecting interstate commerce using his computer. On February 24, 2011, Allen knowingly possessed computer disks and other materials, including a desk top computer with a hard drive that contained child pornography images that had been transported in or affecting interstate commerce.

“The transportation and possession of these reprehensible images comes with a price—a potential prison sentence and lengthy court supervision,” said U.S. Attorney John Walsh.

“The investigative and prosecutorial teamwork exhibited in tracking James Allen demonstrates the collaborative effort necessary in these investigations,” said FBI Denver Special Agent in Charge James Yacone. “Our Innocent Images Task Force comprised of the Aurora and Englewood Police Departments, and the United States Postal Service will continue to identify, locate, and apprehend individuals who are engaged in the sexual exploitation of children.”

If convicted of transportation of child pornography, Allen faces not less than five years, and not more than 20 years’ imprisonment, and not more than a $250,000 fine. He also faces supervised release of not less than five years and up to life.

The indictment also contains an asset forfeiture allegation, which states upon conviction the defendant is to forfeit any of the items that contained the illegal images. It also states he could forfeit proceeds, if any, made by committing his crime.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Allen is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Judith Smith.

The charges contained in the indictment are allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

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 United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (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. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.