Denver Strip Club DJ Sentenced to Prison for Possession of Child Pornography

DENVER—Walden Allen Schmidt, age 46, of Denver, Colorado, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Court Judge Robert E. Blackburn to serve 97 months (over eight years) in federal prison for possession of child pornography, U.S. Attorney John Walsh and FBI Denver Acting Special Agent in Charge Steven Olson announced. Judge Blackburn ordered Schmidt to serve 10 years on supervised release at the conclusion of his prison sentence. He was also ordered to pay $5,000 to victims of his crimes. Schmidt appeared at the sentencing hearing free on bond but was remanded into custody at the hearing’s conclusion.

On April 9, 2012, Schmidt was indicted by a federal grand jury in Denver on child exploitation charges. On December 20, 2012, he pled guilty to possession of child pornography. He was sentenced on Thursday, May 2, 2013.

According to court records, including the stipulated facts contained in the plea agreement, Schmidt obtained over 13, 000 images of child pornography using peer-to-peer file sharing software. He also distributed child pornography to an undercover FBI agent. Schmidt worked as a DJ at a local strip club.

“People from all walks of life have been caught possessing child pornography,” said U.S. Attorney John Walsh. “Regardless of their station in life, if they exploit children, they will be held accountable.”

“The nation’s children are our most vulnerable victims,” said FBI Denver Acting Special Agent in Charge Steven Olson. “The FBI remains committed to working with our state and local law enforcement partners and the United States Attorney’s Office to aggressively investigate all cases involving the sexual exploitation of children.”

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Bergsieker.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, PSC marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about PSC, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/resources.html and click on the tab “Resources.”