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June 26, 2012
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Gerrardstown Resident Enters Plea to Possession
of Child Pornography

MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA - A 65 year-old Gerrardstown, West Virginia, resident entered a plea of guilty on June 25, 2012, in United States District Court in Martinsburg before Magistrate Judge David J. Joel.

United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II, announced that: LARRY BEAN entered a plea of guilty to one count of Possession of in Excess of 17,000 Images of Child Pornography, which was located on a laptop computer, media discs, floppy discs and a cell phone seized from his residence on April 19, 2011. BEAN, who is free on bond pending sentencing, faces a maximum exposure of 10 years imprisonment and a fine of $250,000. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Paul T. Camilletti and was investigated by the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

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.