Harrisburg Man Indicted for Failure to Appear for Sentencing After Being Convicted of Receipt of Child Pornography
| U.S. Attorney’s Office September 15, 2011 |
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, announced today that Michael Brown, 67, of Harrisburg, was indicted by a federal grand jury sitting in Harrisburg yesterday for failure to appear for sentencing by defendant.
According to United States Attorney Peter J. Smith, on December 9, 2009, Michael Brown was charged in a two-count indictment charging him with receipt of child pornography and possession of child pornography. Brown was arrested and released on an appearance bond with pretrial services supervision including home confinement with electronic monitoring. On July 29, 2010, Brown plead guilty to receipt of child pornography.
Brown was scheduled to be sentenced on July 21, 2011. However, Brown failed to appear and left a note with his girlfriend indicating that he was not going to appear for sentencing. During the search for Brown it was discovered that he traveled throughout the United States, to include the states of Oregon, Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, Indiana, Wisconsin, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, and California. On August 30, 2011, after an extensive manhunt, Brown was arrested at a library in Harrisburg as he tried to meet an associate.
In addition to his other sentence, if convicted, Brown faces up to 120 months’ imprisonment and a $250,000 fine.
This case is being investigated by the United States Marshals Service with the assistance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and numerous state and local law enforcement agencies and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daryl F. Bloom.
An indictment or information is not evidence of guilt but simply a description of the charge made by the grand jury and/or United States Attorney against a defendant. A charged defendant is presumed innocent until a jury returns a unanimous finding that the United States has proven the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt or until the defendant has pled guilty to the charges.