United States Attorney Bill Nettles says Matthew Price,30, of Florence, pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography.
United States District Judge R. Bryan Harwell will sentence Price after reviewing a presentence report prepared by the U.S. Probation Office.
Evidence presented at the change of plea hearing showed that an individual on Price's computer had used GigaTribe http://www.gigatribe.com/en/home, a file sharing service, to obtain and share child pornography. The investigation was conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Buffalo, NY and the Department of Homeland Security.
Price's computer, which contained child pornography, was seized.
The maximum penalty Price can receive is a fine of $250,000 and/or imprisonment for 10 years, according to Nettles.
This case was part of Project Safe Childhood http://www.justice.gov/psc/, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney's Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims.
For more information, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
