NEWS RELEASE

OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY

WESTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI

MATT J. WHITWORTH

Contact Don Ledford, Public Affairs ● (816) 426-4220 ● 400 East Ninth Street, Room 5510 ● Kansas City, MO 64106

www.usdoj.gov/usao/mow/index.html

MARCH 25, 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PROJECT SAFE CHILDHOOD

JURY CONVICTS GLADSTONE MAN OF RECEIVING

CHILD PORNOGRAPHY OVER THE INTERNET

            KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Matt J. Whitworth, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Gladstone, Mo., man was convicted in federal court today for receiving child pornography over the Internet.

            Calvin Anthony Lear, also known as Tony Lear, 41, of Gladstone, was found guilty of seven counts of receiving child pornography over the Internet and one count of possessing child pornography. Lear was taken into federal custody at the conclusion of the trial.

            Evidence admitted during the trial indicated that Lear subscribed to Internet sites that offered images and videos of child pornography. One of those Web sites, which Lear visited several times, clearly advertised photos of prepubescent children, including babies, engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Lear downloaded and viewed multiple videos containing child pornography from those Internet sites.

            Following the presentation of evidence, the jury in the U.S. District Court in Kansas City deliberated about one hour before returning the guilty verdicts to U.S. District Judge Nanette K. Laughrey, ending a trial that began Tuesday, March 24, 2009.

            Under federal statutes, Lear is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in federal prison without parole on each of the seven receipt convictions, up to 10 years in federal prison without parole on the count of possession of child pornography, plus a fine of up to $2 million. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

            This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Katharine Fincham and Matt Hiller. It was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Gladstone, Mo., Department of Public Safety, the Suffolk County, N.Y., Police Department, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Project Safe Childhood

            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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This news release, as well as additional information about the office of the United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, is available on-line at

www.usdoj.gov/usao/mow/index.html