Man Pleads Guilty to Child
Pornography Charge
United States Attorney Karen P. Hewitt
announced that Michael Berton Laughead pled guilty
today in federal court in San Diego to an Information
charging him with one count of possession of child
pornography, in violation of Title 18, United States
Code, Section 2252(a)(4)(B). Laughead entered his guilty
plea before Magistrate Judge Barbara L. Major, subject
to final acceptance of the plea by United States District
Court Judge M. James Lorenz, at the time of sentencing.
According to court documents, Laughead
admitted that on or about June 5, 2007, he possessed
at least 13 videos on his computer that contained
images of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct
with adults.
Sentencing for Laughead is scheduled
for May 19, 2008 at 8:30 a.m., before Judge Lorenz.
This case stems from an investigation
by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which is a
member of the San Diego Internet Crimes Against Children
Task
Force. Other members include the Immigration and Customs
Enforcement, the San Diego Police Department, the San
Diego Sheriff’s Department, the San Diego
District Attorney’s Office, the United States
Marshals Service, the United States Postal Inspection
Service, the Chula Vista Police Department, and the
Naval Criminal Investigative Service.
This case is being brought as part of
Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide Department of
Justice initiative designed to protect children from
online exploitation and abuse. 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 identify and
rescue victims. For more information about Project
Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
DEFENDANT Case Number:
08CR0451-L
MICHAEL BERTON
LAUGHEAD
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Title 18, United States
Code, Section and 2252(a)(4)(B) (Possession of Child
Pornography)
Maximum Penalty: 10 years’ incarceration, $250,000
fine, a minimum of 5 years and up to a lifetime of
supervised release, and registration as a sex offender.
AGENCY
Federal Bureau of Investigation
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