Lodi Man Sentenced for Distributing Child Pornography

SACRAMENTO, CA—United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced that Duke Nottingham, 61, of Lodi, was sentenced today by United States District Judge John A. Mendez to nine years in prison, to be followed by 10 years of supervised released. Nottingham was found guilty by a jury on September 16, 2010 and has been in custody since that date. As part of his sentence, Nottingham was ordered to pay restitution of $7,500 to two of the minors whose images he possessed, and to register as a sex offender upon his release from prison.

According to court documents and evidence introduced at trial, Nottingham came to the attention of an undercover FBI agent in New York in July of 2009 when he observed a computer user, later identified as Nottingham, in Internet chat rooms associated with the sexual abuse of children. Through a file-sharing program, Nottingham allowed the undercover agent to access and download images from his computer. When the agent reviewed the materials Nottingham was sharing, he found more than 700 files containing images of minors being sexually exploited. A number of the files, images and videos, showed children being physically bound and sexually assaulted.

In October of 2009, FBI agents executed a search warrant at Nottingham’s house in Lodi and seized his computer. According to court records, forensic analysis revealed that Nottingham possessed 965 videos and 579 images of children being graphically sexually exploited.

This case is the product of an extensive investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys Carolyn K. Delaney and Dominique N. Thomas prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative 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, PSC mobilizes federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information, visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov or call the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California and ask to speak with the PSC coordinator.