Home Baltimore Press Releases 2010 DAFB Senior Airman Sentenced to Five Years in Prison for Possession of Child Pornography
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DAFB Senior Airman Sentenced to Five Years in Prison for Possession of Child Pornography

U.S. Attorney’s Office November 02, 2010
  • District of Delaware (302) 573-6277

Gary Leffew, Jr., age 22, a senior airman stationed at Dover Air Force Base, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Sue L. Robinson to five years in prison for possession of child pornography, in violation of federal law. Leffew also was sentenced to five years of supervised release, which will commence following his prison term. He also will be required to register as a sex offender in any jurisdiction in which he lives, works, or attends school.

According to statements made at the sentencing hearing and documents filed in court, in March 2009, Leffew contacted an undercover detective from Kirksville, Missouri, who was posing as a child sex offender in a chat room called "guilty groups." Leffew then invited the undercover detective to join a private computer network used to trade images of child pornography. Leffew engaged in online conversations with the detective and others as they downloaded images of child pornography that Leffew had posted on the network. One computer user wrote that his wife was "watching 2 little kids" as he downloaded child pornography from Leffew's network.

Leffew's attorney argued for a 40-month sentence, noting that Leffew was found in possession of only 38 images and 16 videos of child pornography and that his conduct was largely limited to viewing the images. United States District Judge Sue L. Robinson rejected that request, noting that each image depicts a real child being abused and that "there is nothing casual or innocent about the viewing of child pornography."

Following the imposition of the sentence, United States Attorney David C. Weiss stated, "The children depicted in images of child pornography are re-victimized every time an image of their abuse is shared and accessed. We will continue to vigorously pursue those who use their computers to exploit these young victims."

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Delaware State Police High Tech Crimes Unit. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Edward J. McAndrew.

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