Sacramento Man Arrested for Sharing Child Pornography

SACRAMENTO—United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced that last week, a federal grand jury returned a one-count indictment charging Darren L. Brown, 47, of Sacramento, with sharing and receiving child pornography. He was arrested on Monday.

According to the indictment, from September to October 2011, Brown traded images via the Internet that depicted the sexual exploitation of children.

On Monday, March 19, 2012, Brown was arraigned before United States Magistrate Judge Edmund F. Brennan. Brown pleaded not guilty and was released on a $25,000 bond with restrictions placed on his access to computers and children. His next court appearance is scheduled for April 23, 2012 before United States District Judge William B. Shubb.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Matthew Morris is prosecuting the case.

If convicted, Brown faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of at least five years in prison. The actual sentence, if convicted, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

The charge is only an allegation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

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 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) in the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please 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.