Northern California man sentenced to 5 years in prison for child pornography
SAN FRANCISCO – A northern California man was sentenced Friday to 60 months in prison for possession of child pornography, following a probe spearheaded by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
Keith Monroe Wallace, 53, of Eureka, pleaded guilty June 24 to possession of child pornography. According to the plea agreement, the defendant admitted possessing more than 600 images of prepubescent minors, or minors under the age of 12, engaging in sexually explicit conduct. The images included depictions of sadistic or masochistic conduct and other scenes of violence. Wallace was indicted by a federal grand jury March 10 on one count of possession of child pornography.
At the time of his arrest, Wallace was employed by the Humboldt County Juvenile Probation Office as a supervisory juvenile corrections officer in the Northern California Regional Facility in Eureka. According to court documents, HSI special agents were led to Wallace as a result of an investigation into the sexual exploitation of children in northern California. In February, HSI special agents and investigators with the Humboldt County District Attorney's Office executed a federal search at the defendant's Eureka residence, seizing various computers and digital media storage devices. A forensic review of the seized items revealed the existence of videos and images depicting minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct. Wallace was arrested during the execution of the search warrant.
"The sexual exploitation of innocent children is unconscionable and together with our law enforcement partners we will exhaust every resource to ensure these predators are punished," said Ryan L. Spradlin, special agent in charge of HSI San Francisco.
The prosecution is the result of a probe by HSI and investigators from the Humboldt County District Attorney's Office.
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.
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