Bakersfield man sentenced to more than 7 years on child pornography charges

FRESNO, Calif. — A Bakersfield man was sentenced Monday to more than seven years in federal prison on child pornography charges, following a probe by the Central California Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

William George Gray, 51, was ordered to serve seven years and three months in prison, to be followed by 10 years of supervised release, for receipt of child pornography. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian W. Enos is prosecuting the case.

According to court documents, between Oct. 30, 2011, and Jan. 2, 2013, Gray received more than 600 images depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. The images also involved the portrayal of sadistic, masochistic, and other depictions of violence, and included depictions of pre-pubescent minors.

This case is a product of Operation Predator, a nationwide HSI initiative to protect children from sexual predators, including Internet child pornographers, criminal alien sex offenders and child sex traffickers; and Project Safe Childhood, a Department of Justice effort launched in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.

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.

Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc. Click on the "resources" tab for information about Internet safety.