Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Navy Pleads Guilty to Possession of Child Porn

United States Attorney Karen P. Hewitt announced that WADE ROWLAND SANDERS 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). SANDERS entered his guilty plea before United States District Court Judge Thomas J. Whelan.

According to court records, SANDERS admitted that on or about May 2, 2008, he possessed a computer and computer media which he knew contained over 600 images of minors, including one 21-minute video file that depicted several prepubescent females engaged in sexual conduct with an adult male and performing oral sex on one another.

At the time of his arrest, SANDERS was the Senior Advisor for Veterans and Military Affairs to Lt. Gov. John Garamendi of the State of California. SANDERS is also a retired Captain from the United States Navy, the former Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy under President Clinton, and an active member of the State Bar of California. SANDERS is a decorated combat veteran of the Vietnam War receiving several unit citations, including the Silver Star, Bronze Star, and Purple Heart.

Sentencing for Sanders is scheduled for March 30, 2009 at 9:00 a.m., before Judge Whelan.

This case stems from a nationwide investigation by Federal Bureau of Investigation and assisted by the San Diego Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, whose members include the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the San Diego Police Department, the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department, the Chula Vista Police Department, the United States Attorney’s Office, the San Diego District Attorney’s Office, the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, the United States Marshals Service, the Regional Computer Forensics Laboratory, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, and the El Cajon Police Department.

This case is being brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to combat the growing epidemic of child 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 (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 identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

DEFENDANT WADE ROWLAND SANDERS San Diego, California

Case Number: 08cr4180-W Age: 67

 

 

SUMMARY OF CHARGES

Title 18, United States Code, Section 2252(a)(4)(B) (Possession of Child Pornography)
Maximum Penalties: 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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