NEBRASKA MAN INDICTED ON FEDERAL CHILD PORNOGRAPHY CHARGES
INVOLVING IMAGES HE SENT TO ADAIR COUNTY OVER THE INTERNET

St. Louis, MO: Aaron Prather was indicted on federal child pornography charges, United States Attorney Catherine L. Hanaway and Adair County Prosecuting Attorney Mark Williams announced today.

"The indictment alleges that between April 6 and May 17, 2007, Prather sent graphic image files containing child pornography over the internet from Hall County, Nebraska, to Adair County, Missouri," said Hanaway.

Prather was arrested and transported to Missouri from Nebraska by the Kirksville Police Department and agents of the Kirksville office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

AARON PRATHER, Grand Island, Nebraska, was indicted by a federal grand jury in St. Louis, on one felony count of transportation of child pornography. If convicted, Prather faces a penalty range of five to twenty years in prison.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In February 2006 the Department of Justice launched 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 charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations, and each defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.