Violent Child Abuser and Child Pornography Producer Sentenced
Lafayette Man Sentenced to 70 Years in Prison After Years of Abusing Young Child and Spreading Abuse Images Across the World

ROME, GA—JAMES BARTHOLOMEW HUSKEY, 39 of Lafayette, Georgia, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Robert L. Vining, Jr. to serve 70 years in prison on charges of producing, distributing, and receiving child pornography.

United States Attorney David E. Nahmias said, “This case ranks among the worst cases of child sexual exploitation we have ever seen. This defendant violently abused a very young girl for several years for his own and others’ sexual pleasure. He has caused irreparable harm to his victim’s emotional and psychological development. As we know from experts, child sexual abuse can lead to many problems for the victims for their entire lives. In this case, the victim will also have to cope with the knowledge that Huskey used her to produce one of the most notorious series of child pornography traded online worldwide. It is unfortunately common to see the same images of sexually exploited children for years or even decades. This case is a tribute to the cooperative work of law enforcement around the world, who worked diligently together to find this child and arrest her abuser. The defendant deserves every day of the 70-year prison sentence he received.”

Gregory Jones, FBI Atlanta Special Agent in Charge, said, “The FBI has always been and will remain committed to protecting the most vulnerable members of our society; namely, our children. The message of the FBI's Innocent Images Task Force to these types of predators is clear:  Engage in this despicable behavior at your own risk, and with the knowledge that each day you spend trading in the misery of children may be your last day of freedom for years to come. We will continue working with our numerous state, local, federal, and international law enforcement partners to see that these criminals receive the justice which they deserve and society demands.”

HUSKEY was sentenced to 70 years in prison to be followed by supervised release for the rest of his life, and ordered to pay restitution of $12,026. HUSKEY pleaded guilty to the charges on November 25, 2008.

According to United States Attorney Nahmias and the information presented in court: In June 2006, Australian authorities informed the FBI’s Innocent Images Unit about an international investigation into the activities of a group of child pornography traders. These traders used sophisticated security measures to protect their trading from the authorities. Agents with the FBI began investigating this group and recovered particularly graphic and disturbing photos and videos of a man engaged in sexual activity with a young girl that were being traded among the group. Over the last two years, the images of this child being violently sexually assaulted grew gradually worse. The Innocent Images Unit of the FBI, working with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Richmond Field Office of the FBI, the Maine State Police, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, and the Atlanta Field Office of the FBI, worked to identify the child, who had been named “Tara” in captions on the abusive photos and videos. Identifying the child or perpetrator was quite difficult in that the face of the perpetrator was often blurred using computer graphics. The perpetrator also wore a mask sometimes, and had the child wear a mask at times. Using items shown in the background of some of the photos and videos, like bedding, a painting, and two car interiors, law enforcement was able to identify HUSKEY as the perpetrator of “Tara’s” abuse.

After HUSKEY’s arrest in June 2008, he admitted he had abused “Tara” and had sent the images of the abuse out over the Internet. The child was also interviewed and confirmed that HUSKEY had sexually assaulted her for years, and had filmed the assaults. The child also confirmed HUSKEY had violently sexually assaulted her on the very day of his arrest. A full forensic review of HUSKEY’s computer revealed many hundreds of images of child pornography, including many graphic photos and videos of the young girl he had been abusing for years. During the search of HUSKEY’s house, agents found many of the items that were depicted in the images being traded around the world, and they found the camera HUSKEY used to record the child’s abuse.

This case is being brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In February 2006, the Attorney General launched Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney's Offices around the country, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

This case was investigated by special agents of the FBI and officers with other law enforcement agencies around the world.

Assistant United States Attorney Francey Hakes prosecuted the case.

For further information please contact David E. Nahmias (pronounced NAH-me-us), United States Attorney or Charysse L. Alexander, Executive Assistant United States Attorney, through Patrick Crosby, Public Affairs Officer, U.S. Attorney's Office, at (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the HomePage for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia is www.usdoj.gov/usao/gan.