NEWS RELEASE

OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY

WESTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI

BETH PHILLIPS

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

www.justice.gov/index.html

MAY 12, 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PROJECT SAFE CHILDHOOD

HUMANSVILLE MAN INDICTED FOR CHILD PORN

            SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Beth Phillips, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Humansville, Mo., man was indicted by a federal grand jury today for receiving and distributing child pornography over the Internet.

            Jerry Earl Troupe, Jr., 51, of Humansville, was charged in a three-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Springfield, Mo.

            Today’s indictment alleges that Troupe distributed child pornography over the Internet on March 31, 2010. Troupe is also charged with one count of receiving child pornography between March 10 and March 30, 2010, and one count of possessing child pornography on April 13, 2010.

            The federal indictment also contains a forfeiture allegation, which would require Troupe to forfeit to the government any property used to commit the alleged offenses, including two desktop computers.

            Phillips cautioned that the charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.

            This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Gary K. Milligan. It was investigated by 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

http://www.justice.gov/index.html