LOUISVILLE, KY - A Louisville man convicted of violating federal child pornography laws has been sentenced today by Chief United States District Judge Jennifer B. Coffman to 210 months in prison followed by a life term of supervised release announced David J. Hale, United States Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky.

Reginald Hough, age 63, of Louisville, was convicted September 30, 2011, following a three-day jury trial held in United States District Court in Louisville, Kentucky. Hough has a prior conviction in Columbia County, New York, for two counts of first degree sodomy and two counts of first degree sexual abuse on a child under the age of 11.

According to Court records, including trial testimony, law enforcement officials became aware of Hough’s criminal conduct on April 18, 2005, when Hough’s then-wife contacted the Louisville Metro Police Department’s Crimes Against Children Unit (LMPD CACU), and stated that she had found child pornography on her husband’s computer. LMPD obtained a state search warrant. Law enforcement officials seized the computer and later interviewed Hough. As a result of the investigation, LMPD arrested Hough on state charges regarding the possession of child pornography. He was later charged with failure to comply with sex offender registry requirements.

Forensic examination of the computer revealed the presence of 189 images of child pornography. The images were recovered from the unallocated space of the computer’s hard drive. Additionally, the examiner recovered chat texts from the computer with references to children and sexual activity.

Hough posted the state court bond in 2005. While on bond for the state charges, but prior to the federal Indictment, a 10-year-old female neighbor accused Hough of inappropriately touching her on at least three occasions in late 2005 and early 2006. The child reported the incidents to her mother who, in turn, reported the matter to child protective services. A “safety plan” was put into place by Child Protective Services in Indiana. Under the terms of the safety plan, Hough was directed to have no unsupervised conduct with any minor child.

A federal grand jury sitting in Louisville returned a single-count Indictment against Hough on March 6, 2006. The single substantive count charged Hough with possession of child pornography. A later superseding indictment added the charge of attempted receipt of child pornography. On March 22, 2006, federal law enforcement officials arrested Hough on an arrest warrant issued in conjunction with the return of the Indictment. When the law enforcement agents arrested Hough, they found him in a residence with several minor children. There was no other adult present, a clear violation of the “safety plan” previously put in place by the Indiana CPS as well as a condition of the bond set by the Jefferson County court in relation to the child pornography / failure to register as a sex offender case in Kentucky. Following his arrest on the federal Indictment one of the children in the home at the time of his arrest disclosed that Hough had touched her inappropriately.

Assistant United States Attorney Jo E. Lawless prosecuted the case. The Louisville Metro Police Department conducted the investigation. The Federal Bureau of Investigation provided additional investigative resources and support.

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 www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

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