Madison Man Charged with Child Pornography Offenses

MADISON, WI—Stephen P. Sinnott, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that a federal grand jury sitting in Madison returned an indictment on January 27, 2010, charging Robin S. Bone, 43, Madison, with distribution and possession of child pornography. The indictment was unsealed today following the defendant’s arrest.

The indictment alleges that on April 17, 2005, Bone e-mailed sexually explicit images of minors to another individual. The indictment also alleges that on August 22, 2005, Bone possessed a CD ROM containing visual depictions of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct.

If convicted, Bone faces a mandatory minimum penalty of five years and a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison on the distribution charge, and a maximum of 10 years in federal prison on the possession charge.

Bone appeared in U.S. District Court in Madison today. Magistrate Judge Stephen Crocker ordered him held in custody pending a detention hearing to be held next week.

The charges against Bone are the result of an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Madison Police Department, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The prosecution of this case has been assigned to Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura A. Przybylinski Finn.

You are advised that a charge is merely an accusation and that a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless 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 U.S. 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.