NEWS RELEASE
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
WESTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA
John L. Brownlee United States Attorney Brian McGinn Public Affairs Specialist |
BB&T Building 310 1st Street, S.W., Room 906 Roanoke, Virginia 24011 (540) 857-2974 FAX (540) 857-2179 |
March 25, 2008
WOODSTOCK MAN SENTENCED TO 10½ YEARS FOR TRANSPORTING
CHILD PORNOGRAPHY
United States Attorney John L. Brownlee announced today that Caleb Rincon, age 19, of Woodstock, Virginia, was sentenced yesterday in United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Harrisonburg by United States District Court Judge Glen E. Conrad on charges that he transported child pornography.
“Stopping the spread of this hateful and indecent child pornography begins with stopping those with the desire to view and distribute these images,” U.S. Attorney John Brownlee said today. “Thanks to this investigation, there is at least one less individual out there trading these harmful images.”
Rincon had pleaded guilty in September 2007, to one count of transporting child pornography and a count of forfeiture. Today, he was sentenced to 126 months of imprisonment, to be followed by 10 years of supervised release. Rincon was also sentenced to a fine of $5,000 and ordered to forfeit two computers and other property.
According to a factual statement filed at the time of the guilty plea, the investigation began when an investigator, serving in an undercover capacity, received a video containing child pornography, via e-mail from another individual. The investigator subsequently received subscriber information from other persons who had been on the distribution list for the e-mail transmission that contained the pornographic video.
One of the recipients of that e-mail was a individual using the screen name, “Thrasher4321.” Investigators learned that “Thrasher4321" was used by the defendant, Caleb Rincon, who resided in Woodstock, Virginia.
On April 26, 2006, special agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at the defendant’s home. Investigators seized computer evidence and interviewed Rincon, who admitted to be the sole user of the “Thrasher4321" screen name. He also admitted that he frequented chat rooms for the purpose of viewing and trading child pornography.
Rincon told investigators he had been chatting about and viewing child pornography since he was 16 years old. He stated that he was initially just “curious” about it but that it became “addictive.” He also acknowledged to investigators that he knew his behavior was wrong, but said he could not stop it.
The computer evidence that was seized during the search was found to contain numerous images and movie files of child pornography. Investigators limited their search to e-mail traffic sent and received after Rincon turned 18 years old.
Rincon was subsequently indicted for possession of child pornography. However, shortly before he was arrested on the indictment, ICE agents received information from the FBI that on or about February 7, 2007, an undercover FBI agent was using a file sharing Peer-to-Peer program known as LimeWire. The agent conducted a search using the term “5YO.” When the agent got the results of the search, he observed multiple child pornography files available at an IP address that was associated with the defendant’s home address.
Investigators discovered that of the 1,856 files available from the defendant’s account, most of the titles suggested they contained images of child pornography. On March 1, 2007, ICE agents arrested the defendant. At the time of his arrest, investigators searched a new computer found at Rincon’s home. The computer was purchased by his father for Rincon’s use and was found to contain numerous images and movie files of child pornography.
The child pornography recovered from both computers included images and videos depicting prepubescent children engaged in various sexual acts as well as the lascivious exhibition of genitals. Many of the images recovered from the computers were determined to portray identified minors from outside the Commonwealth of Virginia.
The investigation of the case was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. A computer forensic agent with Virginia’s Office of the Attorney General analyzed the computer evidence. Assistant United States Attorney Nancy Healey prosecuted the case.