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Four Men Indicted for Child Pornography Offenses

U.S. Attorney’s Office October 21, 2010
  • Eastern District of California (916) 554-2700

FRESNO, CA—United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced that four men have been charged in four separate indictments with receipt or distribution of visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

Docket # 1:10-cr-00427 OWW

Andrew Martinez, 23, of Bakersfield, has been charged with two counts of receipt or distribution of child pornography between December 2009, and February 2010. According to court documents, investigators with the Bakersfield Office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement determined that a computer in Martinez’s residence was making images of child pornography available on a file-sharing network. Upon searching the computer, investigators found dozens of still and video files of child pornography. Martinez had been charged in the Kern County Superior Court with the continuous sexual abuse of three minors and released on bail. Those charges remain pending. He has been ordered detained in federal custody as a flight risk and danger to the community. His next court date is November 15, 2010, at 9:00 a.m. before Senior District Judge Wanger.

Docket # 1:10-cr-00428 LJO

Anthony Ellrodt, 38, of Bakersfield, has been charged with one count of receipt or distribution of child pornography in October 2009. According to court documents, investigators with the Bakersfield Office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement received information from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children that Ellrodt had uploaded an image of child pornography to a photo-storage website, and learned that he was making images of child pornography available to others on a file-sharing network. A search of his computer found hundreds of images of child pornography. Ellrodt was convicted in 1994 in Kansas for a felony charge of aggravated indecent liberties with a minor and sentenced to a 32-month prison term. He has been ordered detained in his federal case as a flight risk and danger to the community. His next court date is November 5, 2010, at 9:00 a.m. before District Judge O’Neill.

Docket # 1:10-cr-00425 AWI

Michael Scott Cooper, 42, of Bakersfield, has been charged with one count of receipt or distribution of child pornography between January 2008, and July 1, 2010. According to court documents, the Bakersfield Police Department began investigating Cooper after his wife found images of a young girl on his home computer. Further investigation revealed that Cooper, who was employed at Loudan Elementary School in Bakersfield, had surreptitiously taken several photographs of a female student in his classroom and then transferred them, through e-mail, to his home computer. When a search warrant was executed at Cooper’s residence on July 12, 2010, investigators seized a computer, which contained hundreds images of minor females, most 10 to 12 years old, engaged in sexually explicit conduct. With the exception of the images taken in his classroom, the other images were downloaded from various sources on the Internet and do not depict students that Cooper taught. He has been ordered released on home detention with GPS tracking and numerous other conditions. The case is the product of a joint investigation of the Bakersfield Police Department and the Bakersfield Federal Bureau of Investigation office. Cooper’s next court date is November 15, 2010, at 9:00 a.m. before Chief District Judge Ishii.

Docket # 1:10-cr-00426 OWW

Angel Landin, 45, of Selma, has been charged with one count of receipt or distribution of child pornography occurring between April 15, 2009 and August 19, 2010. According to court documents, the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office and the Fresno office of United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (part of the Fresno Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force) detected a computer making images of child pornography available on a file-sharing network. Further investigation revealed that the computer was located at the residence of Angel Landin, who was then employed by the Selma Police Department as a patrol officer. Investigators executed a search warrant at his residence and found a computer that contained numerous video files of child pornography. Landin has been ordered released on home detention with GPS tracking and numerous other conditions. His next court date is November 8, 2010, at 9:00 a.m. before Senior District Judge Wanger.

Each charge carries a mandatory prison term of between five and 20 years, a potential fine of $250,000, and a potential lifetime term of supervised release. For Ellrodt, the potential term of imprisonment is between 15 and 40 years, because of his prior conviction. The actual sentence for each defendant, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory sentencing factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

United States Attorney Wagner said, “Our office will continue to vigorously prosecute individuals who choose to use the internet to sexually exploit children. We are committed to working with all of our local, state, and federal partners.”

“My agents are aggressively pursuing child predators here in Bakersfield and throughout Kern County,” said Michael Toms, resident agent in charge of ICE Homeland Security Investigations in Bakersfield. “Those who mistakenly believe the anonymity of the Internet shields them from scrutiny are finding out they can’t hide in cyberspace or behind their computers. We are doing everything in our power and using every tool at our disposal to identify them and ensure they are brought to justice.”

The charges in an indictment are only allegations, and a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Assistant United States Attorney David Gappa is prosecuting the cases.

United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, PSC mobilizes federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information, visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov or call the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California and ask to speak with the PSC coordinator.

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