HUNTSVILLE MAN FACES CHILD PORNOGRAPHY CHARGES

BIRMINGHAM, AL - An indictment was filed today in U.S. District Court charging Patrick Joseph Vitarius with possession and receipt of child pornography. The indictment is announced today by U.S. Attorney Alice H. Martin and Special Agent in Charge Carmen S. Adams, Federal Bureau of Investigation.

“Each image of child pornography documents a sexual crime scene involving a child,” said U.S. Attorney Alice H. Martin. “Our goal is to prosecute the producers and consumers. If you have these photos we want you in jail.”

The two-count indictment charges Vitarius with possession of material containing child pornography in July 2007, and receipt of material containing child pornography also in July 2007.

“The sexual predation of children is a profound evil,” states Special Agent in Charge Carmen S. Adams, Federal Bureau of Investigation. “I commend my law enforcement partners who brought this man to justice. We simply cannot rest in our efforts to protect children from sexual abuse.”

Vitarius faces not less than five years in prison and a fine of $250,000 for receipt of child pornography. He faces not more than ten years in prison and a fine of $250,000 for possession of child pornography.

This case was brought as part of the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood initiative and our continuing efforts to target individuals who possess and distribute child pornography. In February 2006, former Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices nationwide, 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 the national Project Safe Childhood initiative, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov/.

Members of the public are reminded that an indictment contains only charges. A defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove a defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.