Multiple Defendants Arrested for Trafficking in Child Pornography

SACRAMENTO, CA—United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced that four men were indicted by a federal grand jury on Thursday, July 27, 2011 and charged with child pornography offenses.

Michael Hill, 60, Sacramento, 2:11-cr-321-WBS. Hill was charged with receipt and possession of child pornography. The indictment alleges that between August 1, 2005 and October 15, 2010, Hill received visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. According to court documents, when law enforcement officers searched Hill’s residence on October 20, 2010, they found child pornography in his possession, some of which were digital pictures with titles describing the molestation of children.

Oliver P. Kim, 36, Sacramento, 2:11-cr-325-WBS. Kim was charged with receipt and possession of child pornography. The indictment alleges that between July 16, 2007 and February 15, 2011, Kim received visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. According to court documents, when law enforcement officers searched Kim’s residence on March 23, 2010, they found child pornography in his possession, some of which were digital movies with titles describing the molestation of children by adults.

Sean C. Howard, 34, Sacramento, 2:11-cr-326-KJM. Howard was charged with receipt and sharing of child pornography. The indictment alleges that between January 26, 2011 and March 22, 2011, Howard received visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. The indictment also alleges that on February 8, 2011, Howard shared files of child pornography, some of which were digital pictures with titles describing sex with children.

Hill, Kim, and Howard were arrested this morning and are scheduled for arraignment before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kendall J. Newman at 2:00 p.m. today.

Daniel Otake, 27, Stockton, 2:11-cr-322-KJM. Otake was charged with receipt, sharing, and possession of child pornography. The indictment alleges that between January 16, 2008 and March 11, 2011, Otake received visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. According to court documents, on February 6, 2011, Otake shared files of child pornography and when law enforcement officers searched Otake’s residence on April 19, 2011, among the files that Otake received, shared, and possessed were images and movies with file names that described sex between adults and children.

Otake is scheduled for arraignment before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kendall J. Newman on August 12, 2011.

These cases are the product of extensive investigations by the California Department of Justice and the Sacramento Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force. The Sacramento ICAC is a federally and state-funded task force managed by the Sacramento Sheriff’s Department made up of agents from federal, state, and local agencies. The purpose of the Sacramento ICAC is to investigate online child exploitation crimes, including child pornography, enticement, and sex trafficking. Assistant United States Attorney Kyle Reardon is prosecuting the cases.

The statutory penalty for receipt or sharing of child pornography is no less than five years and up to 20 years in prison. The maximum statutory penalty for possession of child pornography is 10 years in prison. Both crimes carry potential fines of $250,00 and lifetime terms of supervised release. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

The charges are only allegations and the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

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.