Collinsville Man Gets 10 Years for Possession of Child Pornography
| U.S. Attorney’s Office September 17, 2012 |
William A. Martin, 29, of Collinsville, Illinois, was sentenced in federal district court on September 17, 2012, to 120 months in prison (the maximum statutory sentence for the offense) on a one-count indictment charging him with possession of child pornography, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, announced today. Martin was also ordered to serve a 30-year term of supervised release, fined $1,000, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment. Martin previously pled guilty to the one-count indictment on March 27, 2012.
Evidence showed that agents executed a federal search warrant at Martin’s residence based upon an investigation which revealed that Martin was able to download videos and images of child pornography from a computer located at his residence. Agents seized two computers from Martin’s bedroom, which, when forensically examined, were found to contain images and/or videos of child pornography. Martin admitted receiving child pornography through a file-sharing program and admitted possessing both computers, knowing that each contained child pornography.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”
The case was investigated by the Champaign, Illinois, Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Metro East Cyber Crimes and Analysis Task Force. The case was assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Angela Scott.