Knoxville Resident Charles Bush Sentenced to Serve 151 Months in Prison for Child Pornography

KNOXVILLE, TN—Charles Wesley Bush, 33, of Knoxville, Tennessee, was sentenced on August 20, 2013, by the Honorable Thomas A. Varlan, Chief U.S. District Court Judge to serve 151 months in federal prison.

Bush was indicted in October 2012 and pleaded guilty in March 2013 to a four-count indictment charging him with distribution and possession of child pornography. Bush came to the attention of federal authorities through his use of the Internet to distribute child pornography. A forensic examination of his computer found him to be in possession of 232 images and 299 video files of child pornography.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Frank M. Dale, Jr. and Melissa Kirby represented the United States.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, 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, Project Safe Childhood 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 Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “Resources.”