FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2008 WWW.USDOJ.GOV CRM (202) 514-2007 TDD (202) 514-1888 WASHINGTON – Bradley Douglas Highbarger, 35, of St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, was sentenced today to 75 months in prison for receipt of child pornography, Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew Friedrich of the Criminal Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Paul A. Murphy of the District of the Virgin Islands announced. In addition to his prison term, Highbarger also was ordered to serve a lifetime of supervised release.
On Feb. 15, 2007, Highbarger, a/k/a Douglas Jerome Stein, was indicted on two counts of receiving child pornography through the Internet. The charges in the indictment arose after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents searched Highbarger’s home in July 2006 while investigating crimes involving passport fraud and controlled substances. Based on a search warrant, agents discovered approximately 78 videos and more than 30 images depicting the sexual abuse of children on Highbarger’s computer.
Highbarger pleaded guilty to the two counts of receipt of child pornography on June 18, 2008. As part of the plea agreement, Highbarger admitted to using peer-to-peer software to receive the images depicting the sexual abuse of children.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), 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. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Everard Potter of the District of the Virgin Islands with advisory assistance from Trial Attorney Elizabeth M. Yusi of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section. The case was investigated by ICE, the Diplomatic Security Service of the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. 08-1121
Source: US Department of Justice
