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September 27, 2004
SAN JOSE MAN SENTENCED TO FIVE YEARS
FOR TRANSPORT OF A PICTURE DEPICTING
MINOR ENGAGED IN SEXUALLY EXPLICIT CONDUCT
The United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California announced that Richard Lee Patterson was sentenced today to five years in prison for transport and shipping of a visual depiction of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Mr. Patterson, 50 of San Jose, California, was arraigned on an Information on April 15, 2004. He was charged with transport and shipping, in interstate commerce, by means of a computer, a visual depiction of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
According to the plea agreement, Mr. Patterson admitted that on or about October 10, 2003, he knowingly and intentionally transported and shipped by means of a computer, from San Jose, California, to Buffalo, New York, a visual depiction of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct. He further admitted that at the time that he sent this visual depiction, he knew that it was of sexually explicit conduct, he knew that at least one of the persons engaged in sexually explicit conduct in such visual depiction was a minor, and he knew that the production of such visual depiction involved the use of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct.
Judge Whyte sentenced the Defendant to five years in federal prison, three years of supervised release, and a special assessment of $100. The special conditions of supervised release include the requirements that the Defendant make an application to register as a sex offender pursuant to state law, that the Defendant not have any contact with a minor under the age of 18 unless such contact is authorized by the probation officer; that the Defendant shall refrain from accessing, via computer, any illegal depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, and that the Defendant shall consent to the probation officer conducing periodic unannounced examinations of his computer equipment. The Defendant will begin serving the sentence immediately.
The parties agreed that, under the Sentencing Guidelines, the Defendant was subject to a statutory mandatory minimum term of five years of imprisonment. The Court adopted the United States' recommendation that the Defendant receive a sentence of five years in prison, as mandated by 18 U.S.C. § 2252(b)(1) for post-PROTECT Act conduct. The sentence was handed down by U.S. District Court Judge Ronald M. Whyte following a guilty plea on one count in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252(a)(1).
The prosecution was the result of a year-long investigation by agents of Immigration & Customs Enforcement. Shawna Yen is the Assistant U.S. Attorney who prosecuted the 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 www.usdoj.gov/usao/can. 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 Luke Macaulay at (415) 436-6757.
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