FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 2 , 2006
THORNTON RESIDENT INDICTED FOR PRODUCTION, TRANSPORTATION
AND RECEIPT OF CHILD PORNOGRAPHY
DENVER – Troy A. Eid, United States Attorney for the District of Colorado, and Richard C. Powers, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Denver Office, announced that DAVID WAYNE CATHCART, age 51, of Thornton, Colorado, was today ordered detained without bond pending trial following his indictment earlier this week on child pornography charges.
Between October 24 and 25, 2006, FBI Special Agents executed three search warrants, directed to CATHCART’s home and vehicle in Thornton. During the execution of the warrants, agents found numerous images of child pornography on a compact disk, including images CATHCART himself produced. CATHCART turned himself in to the Thornton Police Department on October 27, 2006. On October 30, 2006, a federal grand jury in Denver returned a nine count indictment charging CATHCART with production, transportation, and receipt of child pornography.
According to affidavit in support of the search warrant, in 2003 CATHCART was a volunteer for a local mentor program. The child the defendant was assigned to mentor ultimately became his victim and the subject of images of child pornography that CATHCART subsequently uploaded to a file server in Wisconsin.
CATHCART allegedly transported these images to the file serve in order to download other images of child pornography that had been contributed by other individuals. The images of CATHCART’s alleged child victim were found by the FBI when it took down the file serve in 2005.
“Protecting children from predators is a top priority for the U.S. Attorney’s Office,” said U.S. Attorney Troy Eid. “In this case a child was seeking support and guidance from a mentor, and instead became a vulnerable victim of a child pornographer.”
“Children should be protected through the investigation and prosecution of alleged child predators,” said Richard C. Powers, FBI Special Agent in Charge. “The FBI is committed to fully investigate those who violate the law through the production and distribution of child pornography in order to ensure the safety of our communities and our most precious resources – our children.”
If convicted, CATHCART faces not less than 10 years, and up to 20 years in federal prison, and/or up to a $250,000 fine for production of child pornography. He also faces not less than 5 years and not more than 20 years in federal prison and/or up to a $250,000 fine for the transportation and receipt of child pornography.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Habib Nasrullah. This prosecution is part of the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood initiative.
The charges are only allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty.
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