Northern California man sentenced to 15 years for child pornography offense
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A Butte County man was sentenced to a 15-year prison term Tuesday for receiving and distributing child pornography, following an investigation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
Keith Joseph Banning, 59, of Magalia, pleaded guilty in April to receiving and distributing child pornography. According to court documents, an HSI undercover investigation revealed that during a three-month period beginning in June 2012, an Internet user at Banning’s home was employing a peer-to-peer file-sharing network to share pictures and videos depicting the sexual exploitation of children, including videos involving children under the age of 10. A search warrant executed at Banning’s residence revealed his computers contained hundreds of videos showing the sexual abuse of children, and that at various times many of those videos were made available to others over the Internet through a file-sharing network. Banning was caught in another state living under a false name, and had rebuilt his collection of child pornography while living on the run.
“Predators who view pornographic images of children fuel the disturbing actions of like-minded criminals who create the illegal content. Both rob the innocence of their victims and leave permanent scars that can never be entirely healed,” said Ryan L. Spradlin, special agent in charge for HSI San Francisco. “This sentence is a testament to the dedicated HSI agents who aggressively hunt down these abusive pedophiles and bring them out of the shadows to receive the judgment they deserve.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew G. Morris prosecuted the case.
This probe was conducted under the auspices of the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood and HSI’s Operation Predator, two initiatives aimed at locating, arresting and prosecuting individuals who sexually exploit children and rescuing their victims.
Since the launch of Operation Predator in 2003, HSI has arrested more than 12,000 individuals for crimes against children, including the production and distribution of online child pornography, traveling overseas for sex with minors, and sex trafficking of children.
HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE 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-THE-LOST. For additional information about wanted suspected child predators, download HSI’s Operation Predator smartphone app or visit the online suspect alerts page.
For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. Click on the “resources” tab for information about Internet safety education.
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