1125 Chapline Street, Federal Building, Suite 3000 ● Wheeling, WV 26003
(304) 234-0100 ● Contact: Fawn E. Thomas, Public Affairs Specialist

June 20, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

Wheeling Resident Sentenced
on Child Pornography Charges

WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA — A 46 year old Wheeling, West Virginia, resident was sentenced today (June 20, 2011), in United States District Court in Wheeling by Judge Frederick P. Stamp, Jr.

United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II, announced that DALE MATTHEW HAMILTON was sentenced to 168 months imprisonment to be followed by 20 years of supervised release. HAMILTON entered guilty pleas on April 29, 2011, to one count of possession of child pornography on February 18, 2010; and failure to register as a sex offender between March 4, 2010, and May 12, 2010, in the Northern District of West Virginia. HAMILTON was remanded to the custody of the United States Marshal pending designation to a Federal Institution.

The case was prosecuted by United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II and Assistant United States Attorney Randolph J. Bernard. The case was investigated by the United States Marshals Service and the West Virginia Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, which is headed-up and organized 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.