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December 18, 2012
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Morgantown Resident Enters Plea to
Child Pornography Charge

CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA - A 34-year old Morgantown, West Virginia, resident entered a plea of guilty on December 12, 2012, in United States District Court in Clarksburg before Magistrate Judge John S. Kaull.

United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II, announced that: JEFFREY SKIDMORE entered a plea of guilty to one count of Accessing with Intent to View Child Pornography via his computer and the internet on September 8, 2011, in Morgantown. SKIDMORE, who is free on bond pending sentencing, faces a maximum exposure of 10 years imprisonment and a fine of $250,000.

As part of his plea, SKIDMORE agreed to voluntarily abandon all interest in the computer equipment used in the commission of the offense and seized during the investigation so that appropriate disposition may be made thereof.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David J. Perri and was investigated by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations (ICE/HSI).

This case was prosecuted 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.