Sacramento Resident Indicted for Receiving Child Pornography

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Jeffrey Miles Hayes, 54, of Sacramento, was arrested today after a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging him with receipt of child pornography, Acting United States Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court documents, law enforcement identified an internet connection at Hayes’s residence that was being used to upload child pornography to blog sites. A search of the residence revealed an iPad, identified as belonging to Hayes, that was receiving and distributing child pornography through chat messages.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Sacramento Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force in conjunction with the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Shelley D. Weger is prosecuting the case.

If convicted, Hayes faces a sentence of 15 to 40 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. Click on the “resources” tab for information about internet safety education.