Stephen R. Wigginton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced that on July 23, 2013, Steven J. Perry, 38, of Herrin, Illinois, was sentenced for accessing child pornography images online. Perry had earlier pled guilty to accessing the child pornography on his computer. The District Court in Benton sentenced Perry to 24 months in prison, a $500 fine, and 10 years supervised release.
“As I have often said, people who access this filth are not simply perverts looking at dirty pictures. They are, in fact, people who aid and abet the ongoing abuse and exploitation of innocent children. Prison terms are well deserved by these people." said United States Attorney Wigginton.
The evidence at sentencing established that Perry had accessed child pornography videos of children under the age of 10. Some of the child pornography videos Perry accessed also included a minor being subjected to sadistic conduct by their abuser.
The investigation in this case was conducted by the Secret Service Southern Illinois Cyber Crimes Task Force, and a number of state and local law enforcement agencies.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals, who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources."
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Thomas E. Leggans.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
