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United States Attorney's Office

Northern District of Florida

September 28, 2007
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Managing Asst. U.S. Attorney Dixie A. Morrow
(850) 444-4000

 

   

 

AIRMAN SENTENCED TO OVER 13 YEARS IMPRISONMENT
FOR TRANSPORTATION OF CHILD PORNOGRAPHY

Pensacola, Florida - United States Attorney Gregory R. Miller, Northern District of Florida, announced today that Richard Wilkinson, 25, of Fort Walton Beach, Florida, was sentenced to 160 months imprisonment for the transportation of child pornography over the Internet. Wilkinson was found guilty of transporting child pornography to an undercover special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation using peer-to-peer software. At the time, Wilkinson was an active duty member of the United States Air Force stationed at Hurlburt Field, Florida.

     United States District Judge M. Casey Rodgers found the lengthy jail sentence to be appropriate due to both the nature and number of pornographic images. A Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) undercover operation captured Wilkinson transporting the images in 2005. Upon execution of a federal search warrant, Wilkinson admitted agents would find “a lot” of images of child pornography on his computer. A subsequent forensic examination of the computer revealed over 230 “known” images of children engaged in explicit sexual conduct. “Known” means that law enforcement officers have verified that the images are of real children who have been met and interviewed.

                    United States Attorney Miller stated, “The Department of Justice considers the fight against sexual exploitation of children to be a high priority. This prosecution sends an unmistakably clear message that together with our law enforcement partners, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida will aggressively work to guard the innocence of this community’s children.”

     This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Air Force Office of Special Investigations and the United States Attorney’s Office. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David L. Goldberg.           

 

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