Hogsett Announces 115-Year Sentence for Evansville Man Guilty of Production, Distribution of Child Pornography

INDIANAPOLIS—Joseph H. Hogsett, the United States Attorney, announced today that Larry Everett Hodge, age 47, of Evansville, was sentenced to 115 years in prison this afternoon by Chief U.S. District Judge Richard L. Young. This follows Hodge’s December 8, 2011 guilty plea to the following charges: seven counts of production of sexually explicit material involving minors; two counts of conspiracy to produce sexually explicit material involving minors; and two counts of distribution of sexually explicit material involving minors.

“Although these horrible acts can never be undone, today we can at least say with certainty that this man will never walk the streets of Evansville again,” Hogsett said. “In handing down one of the stiffest sentences in this district’s history, I believe the court has made clear how seriously federal criminal justice treats such abhorrent behavior.”

“Federal sentencing rules mandate a minimum of 85 percent of all time must be served, meaning Mr. Hodge will be 145 years old when he becomes eligible for release,” Hogsett added.

In November 2010, the Evansville Police Department responded to a report of child abuse from a concerned individual who had been sent images depicting sexual abuse of a minor on her cell phone. That individual indicated that she had received the images from Hodge. Child abuse detectives were contacted to initiate an investigation.

Detectives went to Larry Everett Hodge’s residence to speak with him, at which point it was immediately apparent that Hodge knew about the abuse of the child, later identified as an 8-year-old female. Hodge admitted in an interview with law enforcement that he had engaged in oral sex with the victim and was arrested on charges of child molestation.

The full extent of the abuse was later established during an examination of a Memorex data storage disc taken during a search of Hodge’s residence. Agents identified at least seven separate digital photography sessions and two videos that were saved on the disc by Hodge, all of which depicted sexual abuse of the minor. Some of the videos depicted sexual abuse by Hodge himself, while others allegedly depicted sexual abuse by Hodge’s wife, co-defendant Emma Dell Hodge.

Further investigation revealed that Hodge had gained access to the child by volunteering to assist the child’s parents by caring for the child after school and at various other times. Hodge has also admitted to distributing the images and videos of the victim to a co-defendant, George K. Jackson.

According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd S. Shellenbarger, who prosecuted the case for the government, Chief Judge Young also imposed lifetime supervision following Hodge’s release from prison. During the period of supervised release, Hodge must comply with all sex offender registration laws, must not have unsupervised contact with minors, and must submit to an examination of any computer devices he uses. Hodge was also ordered to forfeit the computer equipment he used in the offense to the United States.

A sentencing hearing in the matter of Emma Dell Hodge is currently scheduled before Judge Young June 19, 2012 at 9:30 a.m. A sentencing hearing in the matter of George K. Jackson is currently scheduled before Judge Young June 19, 2012 at 10:30 a.m.

This case was the result of an investigation by the Evansville Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation and was brought as part of the U.S. Attorney’s 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 individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc.

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.