December 19, 2014

Federal Grand Jury Indicts Madison Man for Distributing and Possessing Child Pornography

MADISON, WI—John W. Vaudreuil, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced the arrest of Evan Schmidt, 26, at his home in Madison, Wis., this morning. Schmidt was indicted on December 17 by a federal grand jury in the Western District of Wisconsin, sitting in Madison.

Schmidt made an initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Madison this morning. He was held in custody pending a detention hearing, which will take place on Monday, December 22, at 2:00 p.m.

The indictment alleges that Schmidt distributed and possessed visual depictions involving the use of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct. Specifically, the indictment alleges that:

  1. On May 11 and June 5, 2014, Schmidt distributed child pornography in a computer video file, via e-mail;
  2. On March 26 and June 26, 2014, Schmidt received child pornography in a computer video file, via e-mail; and
  3. On September 3, 2014, he possessed two external hard drives, a laptop computer, and a cell phone containing child pornography.

If convicted, Schmidt faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison on each count. The charges against him are the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The prosecution of this case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie Pfluger.

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