Butte County Sex Offender Indicted on Child Pornography Charges

SACRAMENTO, CA—A federal grand jury returned an eight-count indictment today charging Joshua Landon Klipp, 32, of Chico, with one count of production of child pornography, six counts of receipt of child pornography, and one count of commission of a felony offense involving a minor when required to register as a sex offender, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.

According to court documents, between May 13, 2013 and July 10, 2013, Klipp persuaded a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing images of those acts and for the purpose of transmitting live visual depictions of that conduct. Klipp received these images from the minor, as well as other images through the Internet between March 20, 2013 and September 18, 2013.

According to the indictment, Klipp was required to register as a sex offender under California Penal Code Section 290 after being convicted of sex offenses involving a minor in 2009 in Butte County.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Chico Police Department, and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Assistant United States Attorney Kyle Reardon is prosecuting the case.

If convicted of producing child pornography, Klipp faces a maximum statutory penalty of 25 to 50 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. If convicted of receiving child pornography, he faces a maximum statutory penalty of 15 to 40 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. 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; the defendant is 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.