BISMARCK - U.S. Attorney Timothy Q. Purdon announced that on Aug. 26, 2013, David Fugere, 55, Dickinson, N.D., pleaded guilty and was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Daniel L. Hovland on a charge of possession of materials depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor.
Judge Hovland sentenced Fugere to serve one year and four months in federal prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. Fugere was ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Crime Victim’s Fund. Fugere was also ordered to register as a sex offender.
From November 2001 until about October 2003, Fugere possessed 23 visual depictions of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct.
This investigation was conducted by the North Dakota Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and was a cooperative effort of Homeland Security Investigations, the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation, and the Dickinson Police Department.
This case was brought as a 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 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.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Gary Delorme prosecuted the case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
