ALEXANDRIA, Va. - James Douglas Manring, 54, of Fredericksburg, Va., pleaded guilty today to producing child pornography by filming his sexual abuse of several five-year-old students while teaching in Japan.Manring taught preschool in Bethesda, Md., prior to his arrest on Nov. 13, 2012.
Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Gary Barksdale, Inspector in Charge of the Washington Division of the United States Postal Inspection Service, made the announcement after the guilty plea was accepted by United States District Judge Claude M. Hilton.
Manring pleaded guilty to two counts of production of child pornography, which carry a mandatory minimum penalty of ten years and a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, for each count.
According to statement of facts and other court records, Manring filmed himself performing sexual acts on several students who were approximately five years of age while teaching at a preschool in Japan from 1996 till 1999. In 1999, Manring returned the United States and brought DVDs containing the child pornography he produced with him.
Between April 2010 and February 2011, Manring purchased approximately 46 “naturist" videos for more than $2,000. These videos depict the graphic and simulated lascivious exhibition of the genitals and pubic areas of minor boys and were mailed from New York to Manring’s residence in Fredericksburg.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Washington Division’s Child Exploitation Investigations. Special Assistant United States Attorney Alicia J. Yass is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.
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 United States 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..
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
