Former Cal State East Bay Professor Pleads Guilty to Aggravated Sexual Abuse of a Child

Joint Homeland Security/FBI/San Francisco Police Child Pornography Investigation Rescues an Infant from Sexual Abuse by a California Professor of Justice Studies

SAN FRANCISCO—Kenneth Martin Kyle pleaded guilty in federal court in San Francisco today to traveling across state lines for the purpose of engaging in sexual acts with a child younger than 12, United States Attorney MELINDA HAAG announced.

In pleading guilty, Mr. Kyle admitted that in August, 2009, he traveled from San Francisco to St. Louis, Missouri, for the purpose of engaging in sexual acts with an infant victim. At the time of his arrest, in March, 2010, Mr. Kyle was an assistant professor of justice studies at California State University East Bay. He came to the attention of the FBI when undercover agents discovered that he was sharing child pornography over a peer-to-peer file-sharing network. The FBI passed this information along to San Francisco police officers, who obtained a search warrant for Kyle's San Francisco apartment, where they found computers containing thousands of child pornography images and videos. Because Mr. Kyle was out of the country at the time, San Francisco police officers shared their information with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. When Kyle returned to the United States, customs officers found thousands of child pornography images on a laptop in his possession, and evidence on his mobile phone that suggested he might be involved in a sexual relationship with a minor victim in the St. Louis area.

Quick investigative work by Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent Analisa Nogales identified an infant girl in St. Louis, Missouri, whom Mr. Kyle had repeatedly molested—with the participation of the baby's mother—over a six-month period during several visits from San Francisco. Agent Nogales immediately notified St. Louis police officers, who acted quickly to rescue the infant from an abusive home. Other evidence found on Kyle's computer by Homeland Security computer forensics analysts identified another sex offender in Missouri who was actively trading child pornography. He was prosecuted and convicted on state child pornography charges in Missouri. The infant victim's mother currently faces state and federal child molestation and child pornography charges in California and Missouri.

Mr. Kyle, 47, of San Francisco, was indicted by a federal grand jury on April 1, 2010. He was charged with aggravated sexual abuse of a child, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2241(c); production of child pornography, in violation 18 U.S.C. § 2251(c), distribution of child pornography, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252(a)(2), transportation of child pornography, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252(a)(1), and possession of child pornography, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252(a)(4)(B). Under the plea agreement, Mr. Kyle pled guilty to count one of the indictment.

The sentencing of Mr. Kyle is scheduled for August 11, 2011 before Judge Jeffrey S. White in San Francisco. The maximum statutory penalty for the count of conviction is at least 30 years up to life in prison, a fine of $250,000, restitution to the victim, and registration as a sex offender. However, any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.

Owen Martikan is the Assistant U.S. Attorney who is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Rosario Calderon. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent Analisa Nogales, along with Homeland Security Computer Forensics Analyst Gilbert Sacramento. This investigation also involved significant assistant by FBI special agents who first identified Kyle, San Francisco police officers who investigated the lead, St. Louis police officers who helped rescue the infant victim and apprehend her mother, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Missouri, and by Homeland Security agents in St. Louis, Missouri.

Further Information:

Case #: CR 10-245 JSW

A copy of this press release may be found on the U.S. Attorney's Office's website at usdoj.gov/usao/can.