Thornton Man Arrested Based on Indictment for Distribution and Possession of Child Pornography

DENVER—Daniel Ivan Ashby, age 39, of Thornton, Colorado, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Denver on July 9, 2012, on charges of distribution and possession of child pornography. He surrendered to special agents with the FBI on Wednesday, July 11, 2012, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the FBI announced. Ashby is scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in Denver at 1:30 p.m. this afternoon before Magistrate Judge Craig B. Shaffer for a detention hearing and for arraignment.

In 2011, Ashby was affiliated with Calvary Community Baptist Church and Community Christian School in Northglenn as a school administrator.

According to the indictment, Ashby allegedly knowingly distributed child pornography across state lines by any means, including by computer. Further, the defendant allegedly did knowingly possess child pornography, which has been shipped in interstate commerce. The indictment also includes an asset forfeiture allegation, which states that upon conviction for the crimes charged, the defendant will forfeit any interest in the visual images and the media that contains those images, including computers and disks.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Innocent Images Task Force.

Ashby is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Bergsieker.

The charges contained in the indictment are allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty.

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 United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit the website and click on the tab “Resources.”