PRODUCTION OF CHILD PORNOGRAPHY SENDS JEFFERSON COUNTY MAN TO FEDERAL PRISON FOR 99 YEARS

BIRMINGHAM, AL - Today in U.S. District Court, FRANK C. BAIRD, III, 54, of Warrior, was sentenced on charges of production of child pornography, possession of child pornography, and interstate travel for illegal sex acts with a child to 99 years in prison, no parole, 30 years of supervised release, and a fine of $5,000. BAIRD was also ordered to forfeit real estate.

According to U.S. Attorney Alice H. Martin, BAIRD was charged with producing child pornography between May 2002 and March 2005, possession of child pornography in September 2005, and traveling from Alabama to Georgia in June 2003, for illegal sex acts with a child. BAIRD operated a photography business in Warrior, Alabama, and photographed himself engaged in sex acts with girls as young as 13 years old. BAIRD also paid underage girls to engage in sexual acts with him.

BAIRD was originally indicted in November 2005, however a superseding indictment was filed in February 2006. He pled guilty to the charges in March 2006. BAIRD who remained in federal custody was sentenced today by U.S. District Court Judge L. Scott Coogler.

“Project Safe Childhood seeks to coordinate all law enforcement toward the goal of removing every child predator from our streets. We do so one by one, and today Baird received what is a fair sentence – the rest of his life behind bars,” stated U.S. Attorney Martin.

This case was investigated by law enforcement officers of the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department, United States Postal Inspection Service, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney James E. Phillips and E. Vincent Carroll prosecuted this case.

To learn more about Project Safe Childhood visit: www.usdoj.gov/ag/psc/projectsafechildhood.htm.