Grand Rapids Man Sentenced to Six Years for Distributing Child Pornography

GRAND RAPIDS, MI—Nicholas John Woodard, 28, of Grand Rapids, Michigan, received six years in prison for distributing child pornography, U.S. Attorney Donald A. Davis announced today. U.S. District Judge Janet T. Neff, in addition to imposing the six-year sentence, also required Woodard to serve the rest of his life under the supervision of the court to monitor his conduct and ensure that he continues with counseling and treatment following his release from prison.

Woodard operated a file-server (“f-serve”), which is a computer configured to automatically share files through the Internet. Woodard used his f-serve to obtain and trade thousands of illegal sexual images of children. Woodard was discovered by an undercover FBI agent and later indicted on three charges related to the distribution and possession of child pornography. On May 27, 2010, Woodard entered a plea of guilty to distributing illegal sexual images of children.

This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, county prosecutors’ offices, an Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task force, federal, state, and local law enforcement are working closely together to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children. The partners in Project Safe Childhood work to educate local communities about the dangers of online child exploitation, and to teach children how to protect themselves. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit the following web site: www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

The investigation of this matter was conducted by the FBI with assistance from Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Prosecution of this case was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Mekaru.