TEXAS MAN WITH CULLMAN TIES INDICTED FOR POSSESSION OF CHILD PORNOGRAPHY

            BIRMINGHAM, AL -   RAYMOND ALFRED GAGNON, age 40, of San Antonio, Texas, has been indicted on one count of possession of child pornography.

According to a Criminal Complaint filed in July 2008, GAGNON was part of an ongoing investigation regarding the disappearance of a 12-year-old-female who was last seen at a convenience store in Vermont, and was later found to have been murdered. During the initial investigation, GAGNON admitted that after he learned of the disappearance of the Vermont minor, he flew from San Antonio, Texas, to Vermont by way of Cullman, Alabama. GAGNON owns a residence in Cullman, Alabama. The charges brought in U.S. District Court in Birmingham involve child pornography found at this residence in Cullman.

GAGNON admitted that while in Cullman, he went to the Cullman Public Library to attempt to access the missing girl’s MySpace account and Amber Alert information.  GAGNON further admitted to possessing computers at his residence in Cullman and that he had engaged in sexually explicit contact with a minor in Vermont.  During the investigation, GAGNON instructed another person to dispose of a safe in his residence located in San Antonio, Texas.  GAGNON stated that the safe contained a laptop computer that was used to access the missing Vermont girl’s MySpace page and that contained vast amounts of child pornography that he downloaded from the internet.  GAGNON admitted to possessing sexual images of children as young as five years of age.

In July of 2008, a federal grand jury in Texas indicted GAGNON on transporting child pornography and possessing child pornography charges.  He is currently in federal custody in Vermont facing obstruction of justice charges relating to the murdered 12-year-old.  Michael Jacques has been charged with the kidnapping of the murdered child.  No one has been charged with her murder.    

“Sadly, the facts of this case remind us of the roving nature of persons intent on sexually exploiting children,” stated United States Attorney Alice H. Martin.  “I want to thank members of law enforcement from the many jurisdictions who found a piece of this awful puzzle in their own backyard and who then immediately dropped everything to coordinate with each other to bring those persons involved in this case to justice.”
 
GAGNON faces up to 10 years in federal prison, and fines of up to $250,000.00, or both.  

Special Agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated this matter, and it is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney, Mary Stuart Burrell on behalf of the United States.

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.