Milwaukee Area Man Charged in Federal Court with Transportation of Child Pornography

United States Attorney James L. Santelle announced that on February 8, 2011, a grand jury returned an indictment against Gary L. Thompson, age 47, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on a charge of transportation of child pornography. The indictment alleges that in September, 2010, Thompson shared image and video files containing child pornography over the Internet via the Limewire peer-to-peer program on his home computer. If convicted of this offense, Thompson faces a minimum of five years and a maximum of 20 years’ imprisonment, and a fine of up to $250,000.

The defendant was charged based upon an investigation by the Milwaukee office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Cyber Crimes Task Force. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Resler.

At different times and in various capacities over the last several years, Thompson has been employed by or otherwise affiliated with a number of agencies addressing the needs of children in the Milwaukee area. Anyone with information relevant to this investigation is encouraged to contact the FBI at (414) 276-4684.

United States Attorney James L. Santelle stated: "Our office, in cooperation with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other federal, state, and local law enforcement partners, continues to identify for prosecution those individuals who use electronic and other methods for disseminating pornographic images of children—our most vulnerable victims. Our Project Safe Childhood Initiative is designed to ensure the safety and security of our youth—and to address the criminal behaviors of people who compromise that and thus the well-being of our entire community."

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.