Nebraska Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Child Pornography Charges Involving Images He Sent to Adair County over the Internet

St. Louis, Missouri: Aaron Prather pled guilty to federal child pornography charges, United States Attorney Catherine L. Hanaway and Adair County Prosecuting Attorney Mark Williams announced today.

“Prather admitted with his plea that he sent graphic image files containing child pornography over the Internet, from Hall County, Nebraska to Adair County, Missouri, between April 6 and May 17, 2007, to a person he thought was a 13-year-old boy,” said Hanaway.

Prather was arrested in February 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, pled guilty Friday, to one felony count of transportation of child pornography. He appeared before United States District Judge Donald J. Stohr. Prather now faces a penalty range of five to 20 years in prison when he is sentenced on July 17, 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/.

In addition to Prosecuting Attorney Williams, Hanaway commended the work performed on the case by the Kirksville Police Department, the Kirksville office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Missouri Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, the Regional Computer Crimes Education and Enforcement Group, and Assistant United States Attorney Tiffany Becker, who is handling the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

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