Keith Edward Baroun Pleads Guilty in U.S. Federal Court
| U.S. Attorney’s Office October 06, 2009 |
Bill Mercer, United States Attorney for the District of Montana, announced today that during a federal court session in Billings on October 6, 2009, before Chief U.S. District Judge Richard F. Cebull, KEITH EDWARD BAROUN, a 34-year-old resident of Billings, pled guilty to receipt of child pornography. Sentencing is set for January 7, 2010. He is currently detained.
In an Offer of Proof filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Marcia K. Hurd, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:
Agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement were investigating allegations of child pornography access by users utilizing the peer-to-peer file sharing network. One investigation involved an individual in Billings who had child pornography available to share via a file sharing program beginning in 2008. The computer IP address was tracked to BAROUN'S residence in Billings.
On November 7, 2008, a search warrant was served at the residence and BAROUN was questioned. He admitted that he used the peer-to-peer file sharing program Limewire to receive and possess child pornography videos and images. He also admitted burning some of the images to CDs, but claimed that he planned to use those child pornography CDs to implicate a person with whom he worked that he disliked. However, the person had been fired so BAROUN never had to use the disks.
Agents seized various computer equipment and a subsequent forensic examination revealed images and movies of child pornography that BAROUN had received via the Internet during 2007 through 2008 and continued to possess until the equipment was seized. BAROUN possessed images and movies of children clearly prepubescent and children engaged in sadistic or masochistic abuse or other depictions of violence.
BAROUN faces possible penalties of a mandatory minimum of five years in prison and could be sentenced to 20 years, a $250,000 fine, and lifetime supervision.
The investigation was a cooperative effort between U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Billings Police Department.