AUSA VICKIE E. LEDUC or MARCIA MURPHY at 410-209-4885

DECEMBER 7, 2007

WESTERN MARYLAND MAN SENTENCED TO 50 YEARS FOR THE SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF MINOR GIRLS TO PRODUCE CHILD PORNOGRAPHY

Baltimore, Maryland - U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett sentenced William Edward Wray, II, age 51, of Cresaptown, Maryland, today to 50 years in prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release for two counts of sexually exploiting a minor to produce child pornography, announced United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein.

According to the court documents and the guilty plea, on January 27, 2007, Wray sexually exploited a minor female to produce a photograph of the minor female engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Between November 2002 and November 2004, Wray sexually exploited another minor female, in order to produce videos of her engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein said, “This lengthy sentence resulted from federal and state law enforcement working together in Maryland to protect children from sexual abuse. William Wray repeatedly abused two children for years, and he took videos and photographs of the abuse. Mr. Wray also collected photographs of children being abused by other pedophiles. If Mr. Wray completes his sentence and is released from prison, he will be supervised by a law enforcement officer for the rest of his life.”

"Criminals who sexually exploit children are the worst of the worst. Not only do they rob children of their innocence, but they often scar them for life" said James A Dinkins, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Baltimore Office. In this case, Wray will pay for his crimes for the next 50 years."

According to court documents, law enforcement officers searched Wray’s residence on March 9, 2007 and seized numerous hard drives, several hundred pieces of removable media, a digital video camera, several Polaroid images of child pornography and two videotapes of Wray engaging in sexually explicit behavior with minor children, including the two victims. When officers entered Wray’s residence, his computer was operating on a file sharing program, distributing his collection of child pornography to other individuals through the Internet. Wray distributed, received or possessed over 600 images of child pornography, including sadistic or masochistic violence involving prepubescent minors.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices, 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 identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Combined County Criminal Investigation Unit located in Allegany County, Maryland for their investigative work. Mr. Rosenstein commended Allegany County State’s Attorney Michael Twigg for the cooperation provided by his office. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Bonnie S. Greenberg, who is prosecuting the case.