2 Indiana men sentenced to more than 26 years in federal prison for producing child pornography with teenager, toddler

INDIANAPOLIS – Two Indiana men were each sentenced Friday to more than 25 years in prison for producing sexually explicit videos of local minors, and possessing child pornography. The victims were ages 4 and 16 when the abuse took place.

These sentences resulted from an investigation conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Brock Boston, 29, and Leslie Woods, 26, were sentenced to 336 months (28 years) and 320 months (26 ½ years) in federal prison, respectively, to be followed by lifetime terms of federally supervised release. In addition, Boston was fined $10,000 and Woods was fined $5,000. Both men had previously pleaded guilty to the charges.

Court documents indicate that Indiana law enforcement began investigating when Minnesota officials contacted them with concerns that Woods, a convicted sexual offender, had recently moved to the area. HSI special agents executed a search warrant Feb. 29, 2012 at the home where Woods was believed to be staying. Investigators interviewed both Woods and Boston who were both living in the home.

Over the course of these interviews, HSI special agents determined that Woods had moved from Minnesota to live with Boston. While living there, both men had been involved in coercing a 16-year-old boy into producing sexually explicit images and videos. It was additionally determined that Boston had produced child pornography involving a 4-year-old child. The recording of these acts had all taken place inside the Columbus, Ind., area residence.

In addition, both men possessed other images and videos depicting minors being sexually abused and exploited. A number of these images and videos had file names referencing the sexual abuse of children, including toddlers. Woods also faced an additional charge for failing to register as a sex offender; his criminal history included a prior felony conviction for receiving and possessing child pornography in Illinois.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Gayle L. Helart, Southern District of Indiana, prosecuted this case for the government.

This investigation was part of Operation Predator, a nationwide HSI initiative to protect children from sexual predators, including those who travel overseas for sex with minors, Internet child pornographers, criminal alien sex offenders and child sex traffickers. HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-347-2423 or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators.

Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, via its toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-843-5678.

HSI is a founding member and current chair of the Virtual Global Taskforce, an international alliance of law enforcement agencies and private industry sector partners working together to prevent and deter online child sexual abuse.