Franklin Man Pleads Guilty to Child Pornography Charges

January 20, 2010 - WILBER RAY CRAIN, 36, of Franklin, Louisiana, pled guilty in federal court today before U.S. District Judge Ivan L. R. Lemelle to felonies involving the sexual exploitation of children, announced U.S. Attorney Jim Letten today.

According to the factual basis, CRAIN admitted that on July 8, 2008, agents from the Attorney General’s Office and Washington Parish Sheriff’s Office executed a state search warrant at CRAIN’s Franklin residence and found the defendant in possession of a computer and related computer equipment that contained approximately 60 images and eight videos depicting the sexual victimization of children.

CRAIN faces a maximum sentence of ten (10) years in federal prison. Upon his release from custody he will be placed on supervised release up to a term of life, be required to give a DNA sample, and will have to register as a sex offender. Sentencing has been scheduled for April 28, 2010.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), 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 to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

This case is being investigated by the High Tech Crimes Unit of the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office, the Washington Parish Sheriff’s Office, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The prosecution of this case is being handled by Project Safe Childhood Coordinator Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian M. Klebba.