DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY GRETCHEN C.F. SHAPPERT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2008

CONTACT: SUELLEN PIERCE
704.338.3120
FAX 704.227.0264

MAN SENTENCED TO 14 YEARS FOR DISTRIBUTION OF CHILD PORNOGRAPHY Washington Resident Nabbed by North Carolina Law Enforcement CHARLOTTE, NC - An Aberdeen, Washington man, Kevin Alan Hudson, 44, was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison for distributing child pornography, U.S. Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert announced today. He was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Richard L. Voorhees of the Western District of North Carolina.

Law enforcement officers originally encountered Hudson in an online chatroom in which participants discussed incest. An agent with the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation in Hickory and a detective with the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office both chatted with Hudson in the incest chat room on several occasions. During these discussions, which occurred during May, 2006, Hudson sent both officers various child pornography images and videos. In June, 2006, detectives and agents with the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office, the Aberdeen, Washington, Police Department, the Washington State Patrol and the Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested Hudson in Washington and executed a search warrant at his residence. A forensic examination of the computers and computer disks seized at Hudson’s home revealed that Hudson had stored hundreds of child pornography images and several child pornography videos on the computers and disks.

Joining Shappert in today’s announcement are Cherokee County, North Carolina Sheriff Keith Loven, Nathan T. Gray, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Operations in North Carolina, and North Carolina SBI Director Robin Pendergraft.

On September 21, 2006, Hudson pled guilty to eight counts of distributing child pornography. On Tuesday, February 19, 2008 the court sentenced Hudson to 14 years in prison, to be followed by a life term of supervised release. The court also ordered the defendant to register as a sexual offender. Hudson has been in federal custody since his arrest on June 30, 2006, and remains in custody pending designation of the federal prison where he will serve his sentence.

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. Project Safe Childhood is a nationwide initiative of the U.S. Department of Justice designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by 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 www.projectsafechildhood.gov/.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimlani Ford.