Federal Jury Convicts San Jose Man for Distributing Child Pornography
Max Budziak Used LimeWire File Sharing Software to Distribute Images

SAN JOSE, CA—A federal jury today convicted a San Jose man on two counts of distributing child pornography and one count of possessing child pornography, United States Attorney Melinda Haag announced.

The jury, after deliberating just under one hour, unanimously found that Max Budziak illegally distributed child pornography images on two separate dates in June 2007 and illegally possessed child pornography images and videos on July 24, 2007. The guilty verdict on all charges followed a four-day trial before U.S. District Court Judge Ronald M. Whyte in San Jose.

Evidence at trial showed that Budziak used LimeWire file sharing software to distribute images of child pornography. In June 2007, agents working undercover for the FBI downloaded images of child pornography made available by Budziak from his home computer in San Jose. On July 24, 2007, FBI agents executed a search warrant at Budziak’s home and seized Budziak’s computer and two compact discs containing hundreds of files of child pornography images and videos. Several of the child pornography images were from series’ of images of child victims who were under age 10 at the time they were abused.

After the jury returned its verdict, Budziak, 66, agreed to forfeit the computer, hard drive, and compact discs containing the child pornography. He was immediately remanded into federal custody.

Budziak was charged by a federal indictment on April 3, 2008. He is scheduled to be sentenced on April 25, 2011, by Judge Whyte.

The two felony counts of conviction for distribution of child pornography under 18 U.S.C. § 2252(a)(2)(A) each result in a mandatory minimum prison sentence of five years and a maximum of 20 years in prison. The felony conviction for possession of child pornography under 18 U.S.C. § 2252(a)(4)(B) results in a maximum prison sentence of 10 years. In addition, the court may impose a fine of up to $250,000 and order Budziak to pay restitution to crime victims.

Allison Marston Danner and Nat Cousins are the Assistant U.S. Attorneys who prosecuted the case at trial with the assistance of legal technician Nina Williams. The prosecution is the result of a three-year investigation by the FBI, with the assistance of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.

Further Information:

Case #: CR 08-00284 RMW

A copy of this press release may be found on the U.S. Attorney's Office's website at www.usdoj.gov/usao/can.

Electronic court filings and further procedural and docket information are available at https://ecf.cand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.

Judges' calendars with schedules for upcoming court hearings can be viewed on the court's website at www.cand.uscourts.gov.

All press inquiries to the U.S. Attorney's Office should be directed to Jack Gillund at (415) 436-6599 or by email at Jack.Gillund@usdoj.gov.