Fresno Man Sentenced to 27 Years in Federal Prison for Receipt of Child Pornography

FRESNO, CA—United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced today that JAMES ERIC SCHEIDT, 46, of Fresno, was sentenced today by Chief United States District Judge Anthony W. Ishii, to 27 years in prison to be followed by a lifetime of supervised release for receipt of child pornography. SCHEIDT was also ordered to pay restitution of $3,000 to two separate victims that were depicted in sexually explicit images that he received and possessed.

This case was the result of an investigation by Fresno FBI Cyber Crimes Task Force working in conjunction with approximately two dozen federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies in October 2006, during Operation Valley Predator. Operation Valley Predator combed law enforcement resources to do compliance checks on registered sex offenders as well as to locate sex offenders who were not registered.

According to Assistant United States Attorney David Gappa, who prosecuted the case, investigators had targeted SCHEIDT for a compliance check because he was on parole as a result of an earlier conviction in California state court for committing lewd acts on a minor under age 14. On October 11, 2006, the compliance check was conducted and agents discovered a computer that contained child pornography.

SCHEIDT has been detained in federal custody as a flight risk and danger to the community since October 25, 2007. He pleaded guilty on August 3, 2009.

This prosecution is part of the Department of Justice’s ongoing Project Safe Childhood initiative which was launched to increase federal prosecutions of sexual predators of children, and to reduce the number of Internet crimes against children including child pornography trafficking. As a part of PSC, the United States Attorney’s Office has teamed with state and local agencies and organizations to increase law enforcement presence on the Internet, and to educate the public about safe Internet use, thereby reducing the risk that children might fall prey to online sexual predators. For additional information on the PSC initiative, please go to www.projectsafechildhood.gov or call the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California and ask to speak with the PSC coordinator.