Auburn Man Indicted on Federal Child Pornography Charge

MONTGOMERY, AL—A federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging Auburn resident Douglas Burl “Chuck” Breland, 50, with knowingly possessing child pornography, in violation of federal law, U.S. Attorney George L. Beck, Jr., announced today. According to the one-count indictment, Breland is accused of knowingly possessing a PNY Attaché 1 gigabyte flash drive that contained visual depictions of actual minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct. The offense allegedly occurred in late November 2010.

An initial appearance and arraignment on the indictment have not been set. If convicted of the charge now pending against him, Breland could receive as much as 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and the rest of his life on supervised release.

The investigation was conducted by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and officers of the Auburn Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Nathan D. Stump will prosecute the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In May 2006, the U.S. Department of Justice launched Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices, 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.

Members of the public are reminded that the indictment contains only charges. A defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.