Retired Navy Captain and Nuclear Fuels Executive Pleads Guilty to Receipt of Child Pornography

GREENEVILLE, TN—Timothy Edward Lindstrom, 56, of Jonesborough, Tenn., pleaded guilty on December 6, 2011, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee at Greeneville, to the knowing receipt of child pornography. The Honorable J. Ronnie Greer, U.S. District Judge, remanded Lindstrom to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending his sentencing, set for May 21, 2012, at 9:00 a.m.

Lindstrom faces a minimum term of five years and a maximum term of 20 years in prison; a maximum fine of $250,000; a maximum of lifetime supervised release; restitution and forfeiture of the instrumentalities of the offense; and a $100 special mandatory assessment.

Lindstrom waived his right to indictment and entered a written plea agreement to an information. According to documents filed with the U.S. District Court in Greeneville, Lindstrom received more than 7,000 still images and 21 videofiles of child pornography at his home in Jonesborough, Tenn., from 2006 until February 2011. In 2006, Lindstrom retired as a Captain in the U.S. Navy after 29 years of service. He then served as an Executive Vice-President of Nuclear Fuels Service in Erwin, Tenn., as Director of Nuclear Operations until November 2010.

“These cases are disturbing, but the United States will continue to prosecute whoever is violating these laws and subjecting our children to these illegal influences,” said U.S. Attorney Bill Killian. “Fortunately, the efforts of the FBI and Assistant U.S. Attorney Helen Smith resulted in this conviction,” added Killian.

This prosecution was the result of an investigation by the FBI. Helen Smith, Assistant U.S. Attorney, represented the United States.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. 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 better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.