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October 1, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Martinsburg Resident Indicted for
Possession of Child Pornography

MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA — A 40 year old Martinsburg, West Virginia, resident was arrested this week on charges contained in an Indictment returned by a Federal Grand Jury sitting in Martinsburg, West Virginia.

United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II, announced that MARCUS EUGENE STALEY was named in a one-count Indictment charging him with possession of child pornography. The Indictment alleges that STALEY possessed a computer hard drive and other material containing approximately 6,373 graphic images and 187 video files of child pornography on March 5, 2010, in Berkeley County, West Virginia, which had been transported in interstate commerce via the computer.

If convicted, STALEY faces a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment and a fine of $250,000.

The case will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Paul T. Camilletti. The case was investigated by the West Virginia State Police.

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, 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.

It should be noted that the charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations and not evidence of guilt, and that each defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.