Project Safe Childhood News

FRESNO, CA—U.S. Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced the following developments in Project Safe Childhood cases today in U.S. District Court in Fresno:

Registered Sex Offender from Turlock Sentenced for Receipt of Child Pornography

Charles Albert Risley, 54, of Turlock, was sentenced today by Senior U.S. District Judge Anthony W. Ishii, to 15 years in prison, to be followed by a lifetime term of supervised release, for receipt of more than 600 images of child pornography between July 20, 2012 and September 1, 2012. Many of the images depicted prepubescent minors, and several depicted violence or sadistic or masochistic conduct. While serving his term of supervised release, he will be required to register as a sex offender, and his access to computers, minors, and the Internet will be restricted. He has been detained as a flight risk and danger to the community since October 12, 2012.

According to court documents, Risley had spent six years in prison for a 1993 conviction of committing lewd acts with a child under age 14. He was convicted in 2004 in Stanislaus County for possession of child pornography. This case was the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Ceres Police Department.

Fresno Sex Offender Sentenced for Fourth Violation of Supervised Release

Kenneth Henry McDonald, 59, of Fresno, was sentenced today by Judge Ishii to nine months in prison, to be followed by a eight years and nine months of supervised release, for possessing pornographic images in violation of the conditions of his supervised release. According to court documents, on October 1, 2007, McDonald was sentenced to 30 months in prison for possession of child pornography. He was also ordered to serve 12 years of supervised release, during which a federal probation officer monitored his compliance with court-ordered conditions and restrictions.

According to court records, McDonald violated the conditions of supervised release three times and served additional prison time for each violation: three months, six months, and nine months. He also has served a separate state prison sentence as a result of failing to register as a sex offender. McDonald has been under the supervision of the U.S. Probation Office in Fresno, and he has been in custody since his most recent arrest on April 30, 2013.

Fresno Man Pleads Guilty to Receipt of Child Pornography

Jeffrey Lee Jordan, 56, of Fresno, pleaded guilty today to receipt of child pornography. According to court documents, between February 7, 2013 and March 6, 2013, Jordan received more than 600 images of child pornography, several of which depicted prepubescent minors, violence, or sadistic or masochistic conduct. He was arrested on April 5, 2013, and he was remanded into custody today.

This case was the product of an investigation by the Central California Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the Clovis Police Department.

Jordan will be sentenced by Judge Ishii on September 3, 2013. Jordan faces five to 20 years in prison, a lifetime term of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory sentencing factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

Washington Man Pleads Guilty to Failure to Register as a Sex Offender

Ronald Scott Roufs, 48, pleaded guilty today to failing to register as a sex offender between December 2011 and January 2012, after traveling to Fresno.

According to court documents, he was obligated to register as a sex offender, because he was convicted on February 2, 1991, in Thurston County, Washington, for child molestation in the first degree and was sentenced to six years and three months in state prison. The Mason County Sheriff’s Office in Washington state began an investigation in June 2011, after Roufs moved from Washington and failed to update his registration as a sex offender. The Fresno office of the U.S. Marshals Service located him in Fresno, where he was living next to a children’s daycare. Roufs had also lived in Oregon and Missouri.

Roufs will be sentenced on September 3, 2013, by U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill. Roufs faces a maximum term of 10 years in prison, a lifetime of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory sentencing factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. Click on the “Resources” tab for information about Internet safety.

Assistant U.S. Attorney David Gappa is prosecuting these cases.