Rock Island Man Pleads Guilty to Production of Child Pornography

ROCK ISLAND, IL—Gordon Lee Craig, 28, of the 1100 block of 13th Avenue, Rock Island, Illinois, entered pleas of guilty today to four counts of sexual exploitation of a child. During today’s hearing, before U.S. District Judge Michael M. Mihm, Craig admitted that he produced images of child pornography on four occasions in 2008 in Rock Island. Further, he agreed to forfeiture of camera equipment used in the commission of the offenses.

Craig, also known as “WeeWee,” has remained in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service since his arrest on March 26, when he was charged in a federal criminal complaint.

Sentencing is scheduled on Oct. 8, 2010. The statutory penalty for each count of production of child pornography is a mandatory minimum 15 years to 30 years in prison. The offense also carries a term of supervised release of up to life following any term of imprisonment.

The charges are the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Illinois Attorney General’s Office; the Rock Island Police Department; and the Moline Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew J. Cannon is prosecuting the case.

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 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.