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April 18, 2007
Fort Collins man charged with transporting child pornography
DENVER - A Fort Collins man, who is charged with possessing child pornography, surrendered to authorities today following the filing of a criminal complaint. U.S. Attorney Troy A. Eid, District of Colorado, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced this charge.
Charles Andrew Unfug, 25, of Fort Collins, Colo., was charged with possessing and transporting child pornography.
According to the affidavit in support of the criminal complaint, the defendant's e-mail address was discovered as part of a child pornography investigation being conducted in San Bernardino, Calif. Forensic analysis of computers seized in California revealed that child pornography had been sent to and received from an e-mail address located in Greeley, Colo., which was linked to Unfug.
A search warrant was later executed on the defendant's home in Greeley, Colo., by the Greeley Police Department. Investigators learned that the e-mail address belonged to Andrew Unfug, who is currently living in Fort Collins, Colo., where he is a graduate student. Greeley Police Department investigators, with assistance from the Fort Collins Police Department, then executed a search warrant at the defendant's residence in Fort Collins. Greeley officers seized a laptop, disk drives, DVDs, and numerous other items.
Computer forensic analysis conducted by the Greeley Police Department of the seized items revealed that Unfug allegedly possessed approximately 934 still images of suspected child pornography, and 141 suspected videos of child pornography. Further analysis determined that the defendant allegedly sent photos and videos of child pornography from his laptop computer.
Unfug is charged with one count of transporting child pornography, which carries a penalty of not less than five years, and more than 20 years in federal prison, and not more than a $250,000 fine. He is also charged with one count of possessing child pornography, which carries a penalty of up to 10 years in federal prison, and not more than a $250,000 fine.
"Every time someone views an image containing child pornography, the child pictured in that image is again victimized," said U.S. Attorney Troy Eid. "Project Safe Childhood is a critical initiative to protect children."
"This investigation further demonstrates how pervasive child pornography shared over the Internet has become," said Jeffrey Copp, special agent in charge of the ICE Office of Investigations in Denver. "Those arrested for child pornography crimes come from all walks of life. ICE has an active program to target child pornographers who destroy the lives of so many children in the United States and around the world." Copp heads a four-state area that includes: Colorado, Wyoming, Montana and Idaho.
The Greeley Police Department, the Weld County District Attorney's Office and ICE investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Habib Nasrullah is prosecuting Unfug.
A criminal complaint is a probable cause charging document. Everyone accused of committing a federal crime has a right to be indicted by a grand jury.
These charges are only allegations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse created and launched in February 2006 by Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales. Led by the U.S. Attorneys Offices, 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 identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.projectsafechildhood.gov
In Colorado the partners for Project Safe Childhood include: ICE, the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC), the FBI, and the Postal Inspection Service.
-- ICE --
