College Place Man Sentenced for Receiving Child Pornography

SPOKANE, WA—Michael C. Ormsby, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, announced that Brian Scott Fellman, age 32, formerly of College Place, Washington, was sentenced to 70 months in prison for receiving child pornography over the Internet. He will be under court supervision for five years after he is released from prison and must register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

This investigation began in 2009, when the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Maryland discovered a computer operating on the Internet which was offering to share thousands of child pornography images. Subsequent investigation tracked the computer to a house in College Place, Washington where Brian Scott Fellman lived. On July 27, 2009, a federal search warrant was executed at Brian Fellman's residence. Agents seized one computer, one external hard drive, and numerous digital storage devices which contained thousands of images and videos of child pornography which had been collected from the Internet. A grand jury issued an Indictment on December 1, 2009, and Brian Fellman pleaded guilty on July 19, 2010, to receiving child pornography over the Internet.

Michael C. Ormsby, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, said, "Our youth have been manipulated, victimized, and traumatized by sexual predators. Their images have been stolen and will forever be traded over the Internet. Our dedicated law enforcement officers are to be commended for reaching across the country to make this community safer."

This case is being brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In February 2006, the Department of Justice created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices, 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 identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov. The Project Safe Childhood (PSC) Initiative has five major components:

• Integrated federal, state, and local efforts to investigate and prosecute child exploitation cases, and to identify and rescue child victims
• Participation of PSC partners in coordinated national initiatives
• Increased federal enforcement in child pornography and enticement cases
• Training of federal, state, and local law enforcement agents
• Community awareness and educational programs

To report these crimes, visit www.cybertipline.com or call the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children's hotline at 1-800-843-5678.

This investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and prosecuted by Stephanie Lister, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington.