Two Area Men Plead Guilty to Federal Child Pornography Charges

St. Louis, Missouri: Marlin Sipe and Djuan Brown pled guilty to federal child pornography charges, United States Attorney Catherine L. Hanaway announced today.

MARLIN EUGENE SIPE, Maryland Heights, Missouri, pled guilty today to five felony counts of possession of child pornography and two felony counts of using an interstate facility to attempt to transfer obscene material to a person under the age of 16. According to court documents, Sipe possessed numerous images of child pornography in January 2007, and on two occasions in November and December 2006, he attempted to e-mail obscene material to a 12-year-old. Sipe now faces a maximum penalty of ten years in prison and/or fines up to $250,000 per count. He also faces supervised release for up to life after incarceration. Sentencing has been set for June 27, 2008.

DJUAN BROWN, Bataan Drive, St. Louis, Missouri, pled guilty Tuesday to on one felony count of possession of child pornography, for his May 2007 possession of images of child pornography on his computer. He now faces a maximum penalty of ten years in prison and/or a fine of up to $250,000 when he is sentenced on July 1, 2008.

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 to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov/.

Hanaway commended the work performed on these cases by St. Louis County Police Department, St. Charles City Police Department, St. Charles County Sheriff’s Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Missouri Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, the Regional Computer Crimes Education and Enforcement Group, and Assistant United States Attorneys Carrie Costantin and Ray Meyer, who are handling the cases for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

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