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Department of Justice Logo 

U.S. Department of Justice

United States Attorney
Northern District of California

 

11th Floor, Federal Building
450 Golden Gate Avenue, Box 36055
San Francisco, California  94102

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 

 

Tel: (415) 436-7200
Fax: (415) 436-7234

 

 

June 17, 2004

The United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California announced that David John Hough, 62, of San Jose, CA made an initial appearance yesterday in the federal court in San Jose, CA on a complaint charging him with one count of knowingly possessing child pornography that had been mailed, or shipped, or transported in interstate commerce by any means, including by computer, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252A(a)(5)(B).

According to the complaint, Mr. Hough was on parole as a convicted sexual offender  when a civilian witness noticed that Mr. Hough's computer monitor had on it images of what appeared to be unclothed minor males.  On October 21, 2003, an investigator with the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office conducted a parole search of Mr. Hough's residence in San Jose, CA.  Mr. Hough admitted to having child pornography on the "D" drive of his computer in a folder named "My Boys."  Mr. Hough claimed that he used the child pornography for "therapy" by self-inflicting pain to prevent himself from assaulting children.  The investigator searched the "D" drive of Mr. Hough's computer and located graphic images of nude prepubescent males in seductive poses. 

Also according to the complaint, a forensic examination of Mr. Hough's computer revealed approximately 175 images of what appeared to be child pornography.  The forensic examination showed that Mr.  Hough had accessed at least one newsgroup containing graphic files that apparently contained child pornography, using the AT&T newsgroup server.  A Senior Technical Specialist with AT&T's IP Network Security Group advised that images downloaded from newsgroups using AT&T's newsgroup server necessarily travel to AT&T's newsgroup server located in Missouri prior to being downloaded to the end user's computer.

On June 4, 2004, the federal complaint and arrest warrant were lodged against Mr. Hough.  On June 7, 2004, Mr. Hough made an initial appearance on the complaint before the federal court in the Eastern District of California, sitting in Fresno, CA.  He was thereafter  transported to San Jose, CA for the remainder of the proceedings in this case.

The mandatory minimum statutory penalty for a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252A(a)(5)(B) by a person who has a prior conviction under state law relating to the sexual abuse of minors or relating to the possession, production, receipt, or transportation of child pornography, is ten years of imprisonment.  The maximum statutory penalty for a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252A(a)(5)(B) by a person who has a prior conviction under state law relating to the sexual abuse of minors, or relating to the possession, production, receipt, or transportation of child pornography, is twenty years of imprisonment, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000.  However, any sentence following conviction would be dictated by the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of factors, and would be imposed in the discretion of the Court.  A complaint simply contains allegations against an individual and, as with all defendants, Mr. Hough must be presumed innocent unless and until convicted.

Mr. Hough made his initial appearance and had a detention hearing in federal court in San Jose, CA on June 16, 2004.  He is detained pending a continued detention hearing and preliminary hearing which is scheduled for June 30, 2004, at 9:30 a.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge Patricia V. Trumbull. 

The prosecution is the result of a six-month investigation by the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office, the Santa Clara County Sexual Assault Felony Enforcement ("SAFE") Task Force, and Immigration & Customs Enforcement.  Shawna Yen is the Assistant U.S. Attorney who is prosecuting the federal case, with the assistance of legal technician Tracey Andersen. 

A copy of this press release may be found on the U.S. Attorney's Office's website at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/can/press/index.html.  Related court documents and information may be found on the District Court website at www.cand.uscourts.gov/ or on http://pacer.cand.uscourts/gov.

All press inquiries to the U.S. Attorney's Office should be directed to Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew J. Jacobs at (415)436-7181.

mattmed