Four Area People Face Federal Child Pornography Charges

St. Louis, Missouri: Four area people face child pornography charges, in separate cases, United States Attorney Catherine L. Hanaway announced today.

DAVID GENDRON, St. Louis, was indicted by a federal grand jury on one felony count of receipt of child pornography and one felony count of possession of child pornography. The indictment alleges that between January 2006 and August 2007, Gendron downloaded images of child pornography from the internet, and in August 2007 possessed material containing child pornography.

RUSSELL GENDRON, St. Louis, was indicted by a federal grand jury on one felony count of possession of child pornography. The indictment alleges that he possessed material containing child pornography in August 2007.

JAMES B. NORRIS, JR., O’Fallon, Missouri, was indicted by a federal grand jury on one felony count of possession of child pornography. The indictment alleges that in May 2007, Norris possessed images containing child pornography on his computer.

If convicted, possession of child pornography carries a maximum penalty of ten years in prison and/or fines up to $250,000; receipt of child pornography carries a penalty range of five to 20 years in prison. All charges carry a range of five years to a lifetime of supervised release at the conclusion of any prison sentence.

RICK LEE HENRY, St. Louis, pled guilty to four felony counts of possession of child pornography. Sentencing has been set for July 11, 2008.

These cases were 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 the case by the St. Louis County and Hazelwood Police Departments, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Postal Inspection Service, the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Missouri Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, the Regional Computer Crimes Education and Enforcement Group, and Assistant United States Attorneys Reginald Harris and Hal Goldsmith, who are handling these cases for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations, and each defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

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