November 1, 2007
OHIO MAN ARRAIGNED ON CHARGES OF TRANSPORTING CHILD PORNOGRAPHY
The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated that Frederick W. Horne, 72, of Mansfield, Ohio, pleaded not guilty today in the United States District Court in Burlington to a one-count indictment charging transportation of child pornography. At the arraignment, United States Magistrate Judge Jerome J. Niedermeier released Horne on numerous conditions, including a $25,000 bond, a curfew with electronic monitoring, and a prohibition against contact with individuals under the age of 18 unless supervised by an adult.
According to court documents, on August 15, 2007, Horne, using the online profile daddyderf_2282, contacted a person in a Yahoo! chatroom who he believed to be a 13 year old girl from Vermont. In reality, the person who Horne had contacted was an undercover police officer working with the Vermont Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force posing as a 13 year old girl. Horne began to chat with the person he believed to be the 13 year old and approximately 10 minutes into the chat, offered to send “naughty” pictures to her. Horne then sent to the undercover officer, via the internet, the first of 12 images depicting prepubescent minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
If convicted, Horne faces a mandatory minimum term of five years' imprisonment, a maximum term of twenty years’ imprisonment, and a fine of up to $250,000. The actual sentence in the event of conviction would be determined by the court with reference to the advisory federal sentencing guidelines. United States Attorney Thomas D. Anderson stated that the indictment is an accusation and that Horne is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.
U.S. Attorney Anderson noted that this prosecution is part of the U.S. Department of Justice's Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
This case was investigated by the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. The prosecution of Horne is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Wendy L. Fuller. Horne is represented by Assistant Federal Public Defender Beth Mann.
