Federal Indictment Charges San Angelo, Texas Man with Producing Child Pornography

SAN ANGELO, TX—A federal grand jury returned an indictment today charging Warren Elton Wittcop, 51, of San Angelo, Texas, with eight counts of production of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney James T. Jacks, of the Northern District of Texas.

According to a federal criminal complaint filed last month, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Wittcop’s residence early last month and discovered sexually explicit images of an underage female stored on a memory card hidden in the inside band of a hat located in Wittcop’s bedroom. Investigators were able to determine that images located on the memory card were produced in Wittcop’s residence. Wittcop is also charged in the indictment with producing a sexually explicit image of a second underage female.

An indictment is an accusation by a federal grand jury, and a defendant is entitled to the presumption of innocence unless proven guilty. If convicted, however, Wittcop faces a penalty of not less than 15 years’ imprisonment, nor more than 30 years’ imprisonment, and a $250,000 fine per count. In addition, if convicted, Wittcop could be ordered to serve a lifetime of supervised release.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 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 (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.

The case is being investigated by the FBI; the Metro-East Cybercrimes and Analysis Task Force, East St. Louis, Illinois; the Troy, Illinois Police Department; the Tom Green County Sheriff’s Office; and the U.S. Marshals Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven M. Sucsy of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Lubbock, Texas, is in charge of the prosecution.