Cando Man Sentenced for Possession of Child Pornography

BISMARCK—U.S. Attorney Timothy Q. Purdon announced that on January 7, 2013, Jerry W. Gibson, 46, Cando, North Dakota, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Daniel L. Hovland on a charge of possession of materials involving the sexual exploitation of minors. Gibson pleaded guilty to the charge on August 22, 2012.

Judge Hovland sentenced Gibson to serve six years and six months in federal prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release. Gibson must register as a sex offender. Gibson was also ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Crime Victim’s Fund.

From an unknown time up until January 19, 2012, Gibson possessed images on his home computer which depicted minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Gibson admitted using the Internet to receive and possess those images.

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs-Turtle Mountain Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation.

This case was brought as a 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 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.justice.gov/psc.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandi Sasse Russell prosecuted the case.