A Washington, D.C., man is facing up to 30 years in prison after pleading
guilty to federal charges of using the Internet to distribute and receive
child pornography.
In a Friday afternoon plea deal, Bruce Schiffer, 34, admitted to one
count each of using his computer to advertise, transport, receive and
possess child pornography. The minimum sentence is 15 years with a maximum
prison term of 30 years.
According to the FBI, Schiffer advertised his collection of approximately 11,000
images and movies of child pornography and erotic depictions of children on
Internet relay chat (IRC) channels, including the “100%preteenboysexpics”
channel.
“Pedophiles who think the Internet is a safe haven for the sexual
exploitation of children are dead wrong,” Assistant Attorney General Alice Fisher said in a statement. “We will find and punish those who prey on
our nation’s youth.”
During a raid on Schiffer’s home in June, authorities seized several
computers; a large quantity of storage media, including videotapes, CDs,
DVDs and floppy disks; and a clown suit.
Federal agents also found two boxes of catalogued correspondence between
Schiffer and roughly 160 prison inmates, the vast majority of whom had
either sexually assaulted or murdered children.
“It is chilling to consider the number of young children who were exploited
and degraded in the production of the obscene images on the defendant’s file
server,” said U.S. Attorney Kenneth Wainstein.
The indictment and guilty plea were the result of an investigation by the
FBI, the Pennsylvania State Police, the High Tech Investigative Unit of the
Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section at the Department of Justice’s
Criminal Division and the U.S. Attorneys’ Office for the District of
Columbia.
Under the federal sentencing guidelines, Schiffer faces a likely sentence of
262 to 327 months in prison. The government is also seeking the forfeiture
of the computer equipment allegedly used to commit these crimes. Sentencing
is set for Feb. 9.
