Indiana Man Sentenced on Child Pornography Charge

James W. Dotts Jr., 33, of Georgetown, Ind., pleaded guilty today in New Albany, Ind., to one count of possession of child pornography and was sentenced to 37 months in prison and lifetimesupervised release following completion of his prison term.

During today’s plea and sentencing hearing before U.S. District Court Judge Richard L. Young, Dotts admitted to subscribing to a commercial child pornography Web site, and possessing visual depictions of prepubescent minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct.

This case was brought as part of an U.S. Department of Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) nationwide investigation called "Operation Emissary," which targeted a Web site that offered images and movies of hardcore child pornography. The Web site alerted would-be customers that subscribing to the site was illegal and warned them to be discreet about their purchases.

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 U.S. 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.

The case against Dotts was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven D. DeBrota of the Southern District of Indiana and CEOS Trial Attorney Bonnie L. Kane. The investigation was handled by ICE and CEOS’ High Technology Investigative Unit.