Fresno man sentenced to 25 years in prison for trafficking child pornography
FRESNO, Calif. — A Fresno man was sentenced Wednesday to 25 years in federal prison on child pornography charges stemming from a probe by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
Bradley Allen Vaine, 28, was previously convicted of receiving and distributing sexually explicit images of children. In addition to 25 years’ incarceration, U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill sentenced Vaine to a lifetime of supervised release upon completion of his prison term. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Gappa prosecuted the case.
According to the plea agreement, on Oct. 25 and 27, 2012, Vaine received and distributed images of child pornography over the Internet. He transmitted more than 600 images of child pornography, including images depicting prepubescent minors being subjected to violence and sadistic or masochistic conduct. Vaine has been detained as a danger to the community and a flight risk since his arrest in November 2012.
“Individuals involved in receiving and distributing child pornography cause severe and lasting damage to their vulnerable victims,” said Michael J. Toms, the acting assistant special agent in charge who oversees HSI Fresno. “Fortunately, the lengthy sentence imposed today virtually assures that no additional children will be harmed by this defendant.”
This case was brought as part of Operation Sunflower, an international enforcement action spearheaded by HSI in 2012 that sought to rescue child sexual exploitation victims and target individuals who trade and produce child pornography. Operation Sunflower commemorated the one-year anniversary of a Kansas preteen victim who was located based upon a sunflower-shaped highway sign in the background of a picture.
The prosecution was also part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. 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.
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