News Releases

Nevada man sentenced to 3 years for possession of child pornography

INDIANAPOLIS - A Nevada man who posted an online ad seeking men to have sex with him and his fictitious granddaughter was sentenced on Friday to more than three years in federal prison for possessing child pornography. The sentence resulted from a joint investigation conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), U.S. Secret Service (USSS) and the Hamilton County (Indiana) Metro Internet Crimes against Children Task Force (HCMICAC).

William Greenfield, 67, of Cal-Nev-Ari, Nev., was sentenced in federal court Feb. 19 to 37 months in prison after he pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography.

In February 2009, Greenfield posted an advertisement on an Internet social networking site seeking men who wanted to have sex with him and with his granddaughter. Initially unaware that Greenfield did not have a granddaughter and had no other access to children, USSS and HCMICAC agents quickly traced the online ad and arrived at Greenfield's residence in Cal-Nev-Ari, a small community in the Nevada desert. It quickly became evident that Greenfield's advertisement was a fantasy; however, Greenfield was found in possession of child pornography.

Greenfield was returned to the Southern District of Indiana for criminal prosecution.

Assistant U.S. Attorney A. Brant Cook, Southern District of Indiana, prosecuted the case. During Friday's court hearing, U.S. District Judge William T. Lawrence also imposed a lifetime term of supervised release following Greenfield's release from prison. During the period of supervised release, Greenfield must abide by restrictions on his computer use and attend and comply with sex offender counseling. Greenfield was also fined $2,500.

"Today's prison sentence is a reminder of the serious crime that is committed when predators use the Internet to victimize innocent children by possessing images of child pornography," said Daniel Dill, resident agent in charge of the ICE Office of Investigations in Indianapolis. "ICE agents will continue to work tirelessly to identify these child predators and bring them to justice."

This investigation was part of Operation Predator, a nationwide ICE initiative to protect children from sexual predators, including those who travel overseas for sex with minors, Internet child pornographers, criminal alien sex offenders, and child sex traffickers. Since Operation Predator was launched in July 2003, ICE agents have arrested more than 12,000 individuals.

ICE encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-DHS-2ICE. This hotline is staffed around the clock by investigators.

Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, at 1-800-843-5678 or http://www.cybertipline.com.