In January, an investigation by the FBI's Innocent Images project led to the arrest of a Tulsa man on child pornography charges. Yesterday, United States Attorney Danny C. Williams, Sr., announced that Kenneth R. Morain changed his plea and entered a guilty plea to the three-count child pornography indictment against him. Morain, 62, is convicted of distributing child pornography. He is scheduled for sentencing in October.
Downloading Child Pornography
According to a Tulsa World story released at the time of Morain's indictment, the man allegedly used free Wi-Fi hotspots at various businesses around Tulsa to download and distribute child pornography via a peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing network.
An affidavit indicates that when Morain was arrested, police seized a computer and two flash drives from the vehicle that Morain was in. Those devices were found to contain more than 4,000 videos and images of child pornography.
Law enforcement agents say that Morain admitted to being involved in downloading and distributing child pornography for more than 10 years. The affidavit states that Morain indicated that he shared child porn files "so that others can enjoy what he has."
Prosecutors also said that Morain admitted to a sexual attraction to young children and even infants. At a January court hearing, he provided a hand-written document that stated that "there have been about 10 occasions where I have seen a young girl in public and purposefully brushed against them."
Morain was not criminally charged in connection with any acts involving sexual contact with children.
Possession and Distribution of Child Porn
Possession and distribution of child pornography may be prosecuted as a state offense, but when the materials are shared across state lines, as is often the case in internet child pornography, it is a federal offense. The United States prosecutes crimes that occur on federal property, special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the U.S., and tribal lands.
Federal child pornography statutes are found in 18 U.S.C § 2252. The federal penalty for distributing child pornography includes a prison sentence of 5 to 20 years; however, if the defendant has a prior conviction involving the child sexual abuse or the sexual exploitation of children, the sentence increases to 15 to 40 years in prison.
Under federal law, the penalty for possession of child pornography depends upon the age of the children involved. If the pornography is a depiction of a minor aged 12 or older, the maximum sentence is 10 years in prison. If, however, the images include pre-pubescent minors or minors under the age of 12, the sentence is 10 to 20 years in federal prison,