Pennsylvania man convicted for possessing child pornography

SCRANTON, Pa. – Following a three-day trial, a federal jury convicted a Pennsylvania man Wednesday for possession of child pornography. The conviction resulted from an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the West Manchester Township Police and the Northern York Regional Police Department.

Lawrence B. Blevins Jr., 44, of West Manchester, faces a 15-year mandatory minimum sentence.

An investigation into a network of individuals who shared child pornography over the Internet led the West Manchester Township Police to execute a search warrant at Blevins’s residence and recover multiple computers and external storage devices from his room. They discovered more than 500,000 images of child pornography and hundreds of videos. Local law enforcement subsequently arrested him.

A federal grand jury, on Sept. 26, 2012, returned a two-count indictment charging Blevins with possession of child pornography.

A sentencing date has not been scheduled.

This investigation was conducted under HSI’s Operation Predator, an international initiative to protect children from sexual predators. Since the launch of Operation Predator in 2003, HSI has arrested more than 10,000 individuals for crimes against children, including producing and distributing online child pornography, traveling overseas for sex with minors, and sex trafficking children. In fiscal year 2013, 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.

HSI is a founding member and current chair of the Virtual Global Taskforce, an international alliance of law enforcement agencies and private industry sector partners working together to prevent and deter online child sexual abuse.