Former Fairfield County Resident Charged with Producing and Distributing Child Pornography

March 5, 2010 - Nora R. Dannehy, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that a federal grand jury sitting in Bridgeport returned an indictment today charging WILLIAM OEHNE, 49, of Amelia, Virginia, with one count of production of child pornography and one count of distribution of child pornography.

The indictment alleges that, from approximately 2004 to 2006 in Fairfield County, Connecticut, where he previously resided, OEHNE photographed himself engaging in sexually explicit conduct with a girl who was approximately 8 years old when the alleged abuse began. It is alleged that OEHNE engaged the victim in a lengthy grooming process involving trickery and threats, and he enticed her to engage in sex acts by promising her gifts of clothes and electronics. The indictment further alleges that OEHNE then distributed the sexually explicit photographs over the Internet.

OEHNE has been detained in federal custody since his arrest in Virginia on March 31, 2009.

The charge of production of child pornography carries a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 15 years, a maximum term of imprisonment of 30 years, and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of distribution of child pornography carries a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of five years, a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years, and a fine of up to $250,000.

U.S. Attorney Dannehy stressed that an indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is entitled to a fair trial at which it is the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

This investigation has been conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in New Haven, the FBI’s Richmond Innocent Images National Initiative Task Force in Virginia, and local police in Connecticut. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Krishna R. Patel.

U.S. Attorney Dannehy noted that this prosecution is part of the United States Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood Initiative, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. 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.

To report cases of child exploitation, please visit www.cybertipline.com.