North Carolina Man Sentenced 327 Months in Prison for Producing Child Pornography

March 29, 2010 - WASHINGTON, DC—Frank Lombard, 43, of Durham, North Carolina, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 327 months in prison for producing child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr., Metropolitan Police Department Chief Cathy L. Lanier, and Shawn Henry, Assistant Director of the FBI’s Washington Field Office. Lombard, a former Duke University employee who pled guilty on December 17, 2009, to Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler, who also ordered that Lombard serve a lifetime period of supervised release upon completion of his prison sentence, during which time he will be required to register as a sex offender.

According to the Statement of the Offense filed in conjunction with the plea agreement, Lombard admitted to streaming a live pornographic image of himself and his prepubescent adopted son to another internet user via a webcam in August 2007, evidence of which was found during a search of Lombard’s Durham, North Carolina home pursuant to a federal search warrant on June 24, 2009. Lombard also admitted that during a June 24, 2009, internet chat session with an undercover police officer, he invited that officer to fly to Durham, North Carolina, in order to have sexual contact with his adopted son. At the time of Lombard’s June 24, 2009, arrest, child pornography materials were found in his home, and he admitted to law enforcement agents that he had engaged in sexual contact with his adopted son.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood and the FBI/MPD Child Exploitation Task Force. In February 2006, the Attorney General created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices, 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.

In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen, MPD Chief Lanier, and FBI Assistant Director Henry commended the outstanding efforts and coordination of the FBI/MPD Child Exploitation Task Force, Washington Metropolitan Police Department Detective Timothy Palchak, North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation Special Agent E. Michael Smith, Jr., and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of North Carolina. They also praised the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Keith A. Becker, from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, who prosecuted this case.