United States Attorney Deborah R. Gilg announced today that following a 3 day trial in United States District Court, a jury found James B. Haugh, age 57, guilty of receiving and distributing child pornography. Haugh, a resident of Grand Island, Nebraska, faces imprisonment of at least 5 years and a maximum of 20 years, a fine of $250,000, and a term of supervised release after imprisonment of at least 5 years and a maximum life term of supervision. In addition, United States District Court Judge John M. Gerrard ordered that the property used to commit the crime be forfeited to the United States.
Haugh came to the attention of investigators of the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office through a proactive investigation conducted by the Nebraska Attorney General into the receipt and distribution of child pornography through file sharing software. Investigators used automated software to determine that a computer utilizing a specific IP address was sharing child pornography through the Internet.
The investigation led to the execution of a search warrant on Dec. 28, 2012, at Haugh’s residence in Grand Island, Nebraska. A forensic examination of a computer and other storage media seized at the residence revealed numerous videos child pornography that had been received and distributed between Jan. 3, 2009 and Dec. 28, 2013.
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.
This case was investigated by the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
