Three Indicted on Child Exploitation Charges

SACRAMENTO, CA—A federal grand jury returned a three-count indictment today, charging Jason S. Wymer, 41, of Citrus Heights; Stormy M. Avers, 33, of Colfax; and Jolene Davis, 37, of Stockton, with production of child pornography, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.

The indictment alleges that in October 2010, Wymer and Avers used a child to create images depicting the molestation of the child and that Avers was a parent or guardian of the child at the time. The indictment alleges that in August 2011, Wymer and Davis used another child to create pornographic images and that Davis had custody of the child at the time.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Sacramento Internet Crimes against Children (ICAC) Task Force. ICAC is a federally and state-funded task force managed by the Sacramento Sheriff’s Department with agents from federal, state, and local agencies. The Sacramento ICAC investigates online child exploitation crimes, including child pornography, enticement, and sex trafficking. Assistant United States Attorney Matthew Morris is prosecuting the case.

According to court documents, the case began when a parent of another child accidentally texted a photo of an 8-year-old girl to Wymer. When Wymer asked for more photos and began a sexually explicit dialogue with what he thought was an 8-year-old girl, the parent brought the cell phone to the FBI. An undercover employee began impersonating an 8-year-old girl. After several weeks of explicit text message chats, the investigators were able to locate Wymer. Upon his arrest, law enforcement found photos of Wymer, Avers, and Davis using children to create child pornography. Additional investigation determined that the children in the photos were minor relatives of Avers and Davis.

If convicted, the defendants face a maximum penalty for producing child pornography of 30 years in prison. Any sentence, however, would 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, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 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 education.