Greeneville Resident Steve Church Pleads Guilty to Child Pornography Charge
| U.S. Attorney’s Office August 06, 2010 |
GREENEVILLE, TN—Steven Blaine Church, 43, of Greeneville, Tennessee, entered a plea of guilty August 5, 2010, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee at Greeneville, to the distribution of child pornography. Sentencing has been set for January 10, 2011, at 10:00 a.m., in United States District Court in Greeneville.
Church faces a minimum term of five years in prison and a maximum of 20 years in prison, a maximum of lifetime supervised release, a maximum fine of $250,000, and a $100 special assessment, as well as forfeiture of the instrumentalities of his offense.
Church’s distribution of child pornography was uncovered by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Innocent Images Project. He has remained in federal custody since his arrest on April 15, 2010.
Gregg L. Sullivan, Acting United States Attorneyfor the Eastern District of Tennessee, noted that this plea reflects his office’s commitment to Project Safe Childhood. “The distributors of child rape images perpetuate the victimization of children, our most vulnerable victims.”
On April 13, 2010, a three-count indictment, which included the aforementioned charge, was returned against Church by a federal grand jury sitting in Greeneville, Tennessee. This indictment was the result of an ongoing investigation by the FBI. Helen Smith, Assistant United States Attorney represented the United States.
This case was brought as part of Public Safe Childhood (PSC), a Department initiative launched in 2006 that aims to combat the proliferation of technology-facilitated sexual exploitation crimes against children. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Department of Justice Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, PSC marshals federal, state, tribal, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information visit ProjectSafeChildhood.gov.