Upper Darby Man Indicted on Child Pornography Charges

Fitzgerald Horton, 45, of Upper Darby, Pennsylvania was charged today by indictment with five counts of using or inducing a child to pose for child pornography images, one count of distribution of child pornography, and one count of possession of child pornography, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger.

If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of 180 years’ imprisonment, which includes a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years, a minimum five-year term of supervised release but up to a lifetime of supervised release, and a fine of $1,750,000.

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.

The case was investigated by the Delaware County District Attorney’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michelle Rotella.

An indictment or information is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.