Manteca Sex Offender Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison for Receipt of Child Pornography

May 25, 2010 - FRESNO, CA—United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced that United States District Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill sentenced Melvin David Kirkbride, 63, of Manteca, today to 15 years in prison to be followed by a lifetime term of supervised release for his conviction for receipt of child pornography. He will be required to register as a sex offender, and his access to minors, computers, and the Internet will be restricted.

This case was the result of an investigation by Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney David Gappa prosecuted the case.

According to the plea agreement filed on Feb. 19, 2010, Kirkbride admitted from June 2007 through June 2009 he had used a computer and modem to receive or distribute numerous images of child pornography. He also admitted that he was convicted in August of 1984 in King County Superior Court in Washington for statutory rape and indecent liberties with six minor males. He has been detained as a flight risk and a danger to the community since his arrest on June 24, 2009.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, PSC mobilizes federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information, visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov or call the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California and ask to speak with the PSC coordinator