DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY GRETCHEN C.F. SHAPPERT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TUESDAY, MAY 8, 2007
CONTACT: SUELLEN PIERCE
704.338.3120
FAX 704.227.0264
Federal Law Carries Mandatory Minimum Penalty of 15 Years’ Imprisonment CHARLOTTE, NC - John Wesley Fail, formerly of Charlotte, was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for his involvement in the production of child pornography, U.S. Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert announced. The defendant was also sentenced to a life term of supervised release, which will follow his release from federal prison, and ordered to register as a sexual offender. The sentence was handed down by U.S. District Judge Frank D. Whitney on Monday, May 7.
The charges are contained in a federal bill of indictment filed in U.S. District Court in Charlotte in December 2005. Defendant Fail has been in federal custody since December 2005. Fail’s federal prosecution followed an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.
John Wesley Fail pled guilty to one count of production of child pornography. That count charged, and Fail admitted, that in or about April 2005, in Mecklenburg County, he knowingly used a minor child to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing visual depictions of such conduct. The criminal count to which John Wesley Fail pled guilty charges that the visual depictions produced by Fail were produced using materials that had been mailed, shipped, or transported in interstate or foreign commerce.
“Congress knew what it was doing when it created a mandatory fifteen-year sentence for the production of child pornography, followed by supervision,” said U.S. Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert. “The punishment fits the crime,” she added. “The manufacture of sexually explicit depictions of a child creates endless victimization of that child. First, there is the actual production, which violates the sanctity of the child. But every subsequent viewing, every subsequent distribution of the child pornography re-victimizes that child, because for the rest of that child’s life, he or she will wonder: ‘Who has seen my picture? Who has recognized me in that terrible photo?’”
Shappert also praised the hard work and dedication of the officers, agents, and prosecutor who brought Fail to justice. The indictment came as the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimlani M. Ford.
This federal prosecution was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In February 2006, Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. 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.
In March of this year, Project Safe Childhood unveiled new public service advertisements (PSAs) regarding the dangers of online predators. The ads, which were developed jointly the U.S. Department of Justice, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), and the Ad Council, are designed to educate teenage girls about the potential dangers of posting and sharing personal information online. The Think Before You Post campaign reminds teens that “anything you post online, anyone can see, family, friends and even no-so-friendly people.”
Popular social networking sites such as MySpace, Facebook, and Sconex make it easier for teens to post and share personal information, pictures, and videos, which may make them more vulnerable to online predators. Teenage girls are particularly at risk of online sexual exploitation. A recent study by University of New Hampshire researchers for NCMEC found that of the approximately one in seven youth who received a sexual solicitation or approach over the Internet, 70 percent were girls.
For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.projectsafechildhood.gov. For more information about the Think Before You Post campaign, please visit http://www.cybertipline.com. Project Safe Childhood partners for the Western District of North Carolina include the FBI, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Secret Service, the North Carolina Attorney General, the North Carolina SBI, the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, and a host of local law enforcement agencies.
Federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole.