Press Release
MIAMI-DADE RESIDENT SENTENCED TO TWENTY-THREE YEARS ON CHILD PORNOGRAPHY CHARGES
May 2, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
R. Alexander Acosta, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Jonathan I. Solomon, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Miami Field Division, and Robin P. Pendergraft, Director of the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, announced that defendant Kenneth Rich, a resident of Miami-Dade County, was sentenced on Friday, May 2, 2007. Rich was convicted on June 13, 2007 for sexual exploitation of children, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2251, and for distribution and possession of child pornography, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 2252A(a)(2)(B) and 2252A(a)(5)(B), and. United States District Court Judge Adalberto Jordan sentenced Rich to 23 years’ imprisonment, followed by a life term of supervised release.
The investigation of Rich commenced in December 2006, when a Special Agent from the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation was monitoring an internet chat room known to be a forum for persons interested in child pornography and pedophilia. While monitoring the room, the agent received an unsolicited text message from Kenneth Rich, who was using a screen name of “nocturnalbump.” Following various online and telephone conversations, Rich sent the undercover agent two e-mails containing graphic videos of child pornography. In addition to these emails, Rich used “video streaming” technology to broadcast several video clips of child pornography to the undercover agent using his web cam.
Based on this Information, the FBI executed a search warrant at Rich’s home, located in Biscayne Park, Florida, on December 15, 2006. During the search, the FBI seized Rich’s computer, computer peripherals, and a variety of digital storage media. Following a forensic examination, the FBI found numerous videos and still images of child pornography on Rich’s external hard drive. Subsequently, Rich admitted that he uploaded and downloaded approximately 100 images of pre-teens and that he sent child pornography files to various internet users, including the undercover agent.
Additional investigation revealed that Rich had been communicating with a pedophile in Texas who was molesting a young child while Rich watched on a webcam in Miami. Rich participated by directing the pedophile in Texas while the molestation was occurring. This conduct resulted in the charge of sexual exploitation of children, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2251.
Mr. Acosta commended the investigative efforts of the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, as well as the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Child Exploitation Squad and Computer Analysis and Response Team. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ryan Stumphauzer.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
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