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Press Release

Raleigh Man Sentenced to 20 Years for Manufacturing Child Pornography Through Online Video Chats

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of North Carolina

NEW BERN – The United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, John Stuart Bruce, announced that today in federal court, United States District Judge Louise W. Flanagan sentenced KEITH WILLIAM DEICHERT, 47, of Raleigh, to 240 months of imprisonment followed by 15 years of supervised release. 

 

DEICHERT was named in a 21-count indictment filed on August 23, 2016.  On May 17, 2017, he pleded guilty to one count of the Manufacture of Child Pornography.

 

In February 2015, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) identified and seized a computer server which hosted a hidden bulletin board website dedicated to the advertisement and distribution of child pornography (Website A).  Website A also provided users with a forum to discuss matters pertinent to the sexual abuse and exploitation of children.  On February 20, 2015, authorities seized the computer server hosting Website A from a web-hosting facility in Lenoir, North Carolina.  Authorities were able to capture the usernames and IP addresses of individuals who accessed and downloaded child pornography (CP) from Website A.  One of the usernames and associated IP addresses seized during the investigation was “harris.”  The individual who used this moniker accessed CP on Website A on multiple occasions during the monitoring period.  Agents determined that the IP address associated with “harris” was controlled by Time Warner Cable (TWC).  In March 2015, an administrative subpoena was served to TWC which requested information related to the user of the IP address.  According to records received from TWC, the account belonged to DEICHERT.  Based on the information obtained, a search warrant was obtained for DEICHERT’s residence.

 

On October 29, 2015, agents executed the search warrant.  During the search, agents located and seized multiple computers and media storage devices.  Additionally, agents located two publications which depicted child pornography.  A third book described different types of sexual contact (including sexual contact between adults and children).  Moreover, two printed

publications, “How to Handle Encounters with Law Enforcement,” and “Surveillance and Counter Surveillance” were recovered.

 

     Forensic examination of the items seized revealed an extensive collection of CP.  Specifically, DEICHERT’s collection of CP included approximately 40,433 images and 1,661 videos. Additionally, law enforcement recovered more than 200 web cam videos from an external hard drive depicting child pornography that were recorded by DEICHERT during online chats with boys on the websites Chatroullete and Omegle.  A forensic analysis of the same hard drive revealed a program used to record videos streaming online, and a program that allows users to transpose previously recorded videos onto their personal webcam.  DEICHERT  used these programs to pretend to be a female, engaged in sexually explicit conduct with young boys, and then recorded videos of the boys engaging in such conduct. Because the defendant produced multiple videos involving both known and unknown victims, he has been classified as a repeat and dangerous sex offender against minors.

 

The criminal investigation of this case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Peggah Wilson prosecuted the case for the government.

 

This case was part of the Project Safe Childhood initiative, a national program aimed at ensuring that criminals exploiting children are effectively prosecuted by making full use of all available law enforcement resources at every level.  For more information about this important national project, Project Safe Childhood, go to www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

Updated September 20, 2017

Topic
Project Safe Childhood