VALLEY MAN SENTENCED IN CHILD PORNOGRAPHY CASE

BIRMINGHAM, AL - Ronald Doyle Crow, 57, from Valley, Alabama, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to serve 15 years and one day in prison for his attempt entice a minor by computer to engage in sexual activity, and his attempt to persuade a minor to engage in sexual activity for the purpose of producing visual depictions of such conduct.  The Court also sentenced Crow to an extra day in prison because Crow did not show up for a scheduled trial in December, 2006.  Upon completion of 15 years and 1 day in prison, Crow will serve a life time of supervised release.
           
 “I encourage parents to continually monitor the online activity of their children and be vigilant for sexual predators who may be attempting to target their children through social networking web sites,”  stated U.S. Attorney Alice H. Martin.    “Any suspicious activity involving a possible sexual predator should immediately be reported to the FBI or your local police department.”

Crow was arrested after a report was made to Vestavia Police Department by an organization known as Perverted Justice which help to locate and identify on-line predators on the internet.   After making contact with a person acting in an under-cover manner, Crow sent pornographic images to the person acting under-cover and chatted with that person and two other screen names Crow believed to be young girls around 14 years of age.    A search warrant and forensic evidence connected Crow with the crime.    A trial date was set for December 2006, Crow failed to appear.  Agents apprehended Crow in Santa Fe, New Mexico in June 2007.  Crowe pled guilty to the charges in July 2007.

“Mr. Crow is one of many pedophiles roaming the internet today,” stated Carmen S. Adams, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation.   “His capture and prosecution is an immeasurable success because every sexual predator who is incarcerated represents the incalculable: one, two or maybe dozens of children that have been protected, who can continue to have a safe and innocent childhood.”

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/.

Special Agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation along with the Vestavia Police Department and the U.S. Marshal Service conducted the investigation and apprehension in this case.  Assistant United States Attorney John H. England, III, prosecuted this matter on behalf of the U.S. Government.

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