Buffalo Man Sentenced to 12 Years in Federal Prison for Distributing Child Pornography

June 8, 2010 - A 46-year-old Buffalo, Minnesota, man has been sentenced to 12 years in federal prison for distributing child pornography. Earlier today in Minneapolis, United States District Court Judge Joan N. Ericksen ordered Jason Dale Gordon to serve 144 months in prison after he pleaded guilty to one count of distribution of child pornography. Gordon was indicted on August, 20, 2009.

In his plea agreement, Gordon admitted that on August 9, 2008, he sent, by way of computer, pictures of a minor in sexually explicit poses to an individual he thought was a 14-year-old New Hampshire boy. The recipient of those pictures, however, was an undercover law enforcement officer. This case was the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, an affiliate agency of the Minnesota Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, and the Buffalo Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Newberry.

The case is also part of Project Safe Childhood (“PSC”), a national initiative to combat the growing epidemic of sexually exploiting children, particularly via the Internet. PSC was launched by the U.S. Department of Justice in May of 2006. Led by the Department’s Criminal Division, Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, along with U.S. Attorney’s nationwide, PSC encourages federal, state, and local law enforcement partnerships and provides resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who abuse children while identifying and rescuing victims of that crime. In 2008, PSC was credited with 2,289 child-pornography indictments being filed in federal court nationwide, a 33-percent increase over 2006. For more information about PSC, visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.