FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 27, 2007

Jim Rybicki Further Information Contact:
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Canadian Citizen Sentenced for Possessing and Transporting Child Pornography

(Norfolk, VA) - Jeremy Harry Drowns, age 32, a Canadian citizen, was sentenced today to 151 months in prison for possessing and transporting child pornography. Chuck Rosenberg, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Cassandra M. Chandler, Special Agent in Charge, Norfolk Field Office, Federal Bureau of Investigation, made the announcement after Drowns was sentenced by United States District Judge Walter D. Kelley. Drowns previously pled guilty to these charges on June 26, 2007.

According to court documents, the case arose when police in Brookville, Pennsylvania responded to a complaint about sexually explicit graffiti written on a truck-stop restroom wall, including disturbing comments expressing sexual interest in little children. An undercover law enforcement officer responded to the e-mail address listed in the graffiti and determined that the author was a commercial truck driver who traveled extensively across the United States. The officer further determined the author’s name and his occasional commercial contacts in the Tidewater area of Virginia. The case was then referred to the Norfolk Field Office for the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

On April 25, 2007 FBI agents interviewed Drowns and with his consent conducted a preliminary investigation of his laptop computer. Upon finding illegal child pornography on the computer, the agents arrested him. A complete forensic examination revealed numerous images and two videos of child pornography.

The investigation was conducted by the local police in Brookville, Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania State Police and the Norfolk Field Office for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Michael C. Moore prosecuted the case for the United States.