MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- 48-year-old Jeffrey Feldman of Milwaukee has pleaded guilty to an indictment charging him with one count of receipt of child pornography.
According to the plea agreement, in January of 2013, Federal Bureau of Investigation special agents detected Feldman sharing files containing child pornography over the Internet via a peer-to-peer network.
Based in part on this information, law enforcement agents obtained a search warrant for Feldman’s residence, where they recovered numerous encrypted computers and electronic storage devices. Subsequent decryption and forensic analysis of those devices revealed that Feldman had knowingly received thousands of child pornography image and video files via the Internet, including the files charged in the indictment.
Sentencing is scheduled for July 10th, 2015, before United States District Court Judge Lynn S. Adelman of the Eastern District of Wisconsin. At the conclusion of his plea hearing, the defendant was remanded into federal custody.
In announcing the plea, United States Attorney Santelle stated: “The plea entered by Jeffrey Feldman is a reflection not only of his acknowledgment of guilt for his receipt of substantial amounts of child pornography but also of the focused and effective work of investigators and prosecutors in bringing him to justice. In partnership with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Criminal Division of the United States Department of Justice, our office remains committed to this high priority mission—that is, identifying and stopping people who prey on our children, victimizing them, their families, and the communities in which we all live and work.”
The case was investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Karine Moreno-Taxman of the Eastern District of Wisconsin and Trial Attorney Jeffrey Zeeman of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section.
This criminal prosecution is a part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the United States Department of Justice.
Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend, investigate and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue the victims of their criminal conduct.
For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.