January 26, 2010
COLORADO SPRINGS SUBSTITUTE TEACHER SENTENCED TO FEDERAL PRISON FOR POSSESSION OF CHILD PORNOGRAPHY
DENVER – Kyle Gregory Speed, age 53, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, was sentenced last week by U.S. District Court Judge Christine M. Arguello to serve 97 months (over 8 years) in federal prison for possession of child pornography, United States Attorney David Gaouette and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Special Agent in Charge Kumar Kibble announced. Following his prison sentence, Speed was ordered by Judge Arguello to spend 5 years on supervised release, and was ordered to register as a sex offender. Prior to Speed’s arrest he worked in the Colorado Springs, Colorado area as a substitute teacher. Speed, who is free on bond, was ordered to surrender to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility within 15 days of designation.
Kyle Gregory Speed was first charged by indictment on July 23, 2009. He pled guilty before Judge Arguello on October 26, 2009. He was sentenced on January 19, 2010, during which Judge Arguello read excerpts from several victims’ letters to emphasize the serious harms to children depicted in the pornography.
According to the facts contained in the stipulated plea agreement, law enforcement officers in New Zealand executed a search warrant on a New Zealander believed to be transporting and possessing child pornography in violation of New Zealand law. The New Zealand investigation revealed that a national of that country was communicating with the defendant, Kyle Speed, and that the pornography was being transmitted via computer between New Zealand and the defendant’s residence.
Based on New Zealand’s evidence, agents for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) obtained a search warrant for Speed’s residence. On January 16, 2009, ICE agents executed the search warrant, seizing several computers and media storage. The seized items were taken to ICE’s forensic computer laboratory for review. That review revealed that Speed was in communication with the man under investigation in New Zealand. It further showed pictures of a sexual nature of prepubescent children who had not obtained the age of 12. The defendant also possessed one or more images of child pornography that portrayed children forced into sadistic or masochistic conduct or other depictions of violence. In total, from July 1995 through January 2009, the defendant possessed over 600 images of child pornography that he had obtained through the internet.
“This very successful investigation and prosecution shows the commitment of law enforcement agencies around the world to protect our children from these internet pornographers,” said U.S. Attorney David Gaouette. “The tremendous team work of the New Zealand authorities and our own ICE Special Agents led not only to a person who possessed child pornography but was also to a person who occupied a position of trust as a substitute teacher.”
“This case unfortunately demonstrates how the “disease” of child pornography has infected the international community,” said Kumar Kibble, Special Agent in Charge of the ICE Office of Investigations in Denver. “However, ICE and our local, state, federal and international law enforcement partners will do whatever is necessary to protect our children – and bring justice to those who have been victimized.” Kibble oversees a four-state area which includes: Colorado, Montana, Utah and Wyoming.
This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Colorado Springs Police Department, Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Unit.
Speed was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patricia Davies.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. 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 http://www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
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