Greene County Man Sentenced to 20 Years for Production of Child Pornography

INDIANAPOLIS—Basil Turpin, 66, Greene County, Indiana, was sentenced to 240 months in prison today by U.S. District Judge Larry J. McKinney following his guilty plea to production of child pornography, announced Timothy M. Morrison, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. This case was the result of a investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Greene County Sheriff’s Department, and the Indiana State Police.

On August 21, 2008, an individual brought a video cassette tape containing child pornography to the Greene County Sheriff’s Office. The individual claimed that the tape, thought to be blank, had been borrowed from Basil Turpin. The tape showed a male child under the age of 16 years engaged in explicit sexual conduct. The tape was made in Turpin’s bedroom

FBI agents searched Turpin’s residence and arrested Turpin the following day. Turpin was charged with one-count of production of child pornography and pled guilty on May 29, 2009.

According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Bradley P. Shepard, who prosecuted the case for the government, Judge McKinney also imposed lifetime supervised release following Turpin’s release from prison. Turpin must register as a sex offender for the remainder of his life.

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.