Northern California sex offender sentenced to 30 years on child pornography charges

FRESNO, Calif. — A child sex offender from northern California was sentenced Wednesday to 30 years in prison following his conviction on child pornography charges stemming from a probe by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Jeffrey Randall Metcalfe, 47, of Turlock, appeared before Chief U.S. District Judge Morrison C. England, Jr. In addition to 30 years’ incarceration, Judge England sentenced the defendant to a lifetime of supervised release upon completion of his prison term. Metcalfe previously pleaded guilty to both receiving and distributing child pornography.

According to court documents, HSI special agents received information that Metcalfe had used an Internet connection to create at least 17 accounts on a photo-sharing website. Metcalfe had posted numerous images to the site and made comments about his interest in child pornography. When HSI special agents executed a search warrant at Metcalfe’s residence in December 2013, they found a computer that contained a screen saver with images of children being sexually exploited as well as thousands of printed and digital images of child pornography.

Metcalfe admitted in a plea agreement that between January 2012 and Dec. 1, 2013, he knowingly used a computer and the Internet to receive and distribute images of child pornography. He also admitted to a prior federal conviction in 2000 for possession of child pornography. Metcalfe has been detained as a danger to the community and flight risk since his initial appearance in federal court in December 2013.

At Wednesday’s hearing, Judge England referenced the "extremely serious nature of the offense" and that this sentence was necessary to address the defendant’s "level of participation in the process" of the sexual exploitation of minors.

HSI received assistance with the investigation from the Turlock Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Gappa prosecuted the case.

This case was a product of Project Safe Childhood, a Department of Justice initiative launched in 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, and HSI’s Operation Predator, an international initiative to protect children from sexual predators.

Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals, 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.

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. In fiscal year 2014, more than 2,000 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative.

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.