Southern District of Indiana

EVANSVILLE – Joseph H. Hogsett, the United States Attorney, announced today that Floyd M. Thompson, age 59, of Evansville, has been charged with possession and receiving child pornography. The United States Postal Service has confirmed that Thompson started working at the Elberfeld office in 2005 and was recently named postmaster. Hogsett said the filing of formal charges comes as his office has launched Operation Community Watch, a new effort which aims to reduce the abuse of Hoosier children through innovative investigative techniques and aggressive prosecution.

“Through Operation Community Watch, this office and our law enforcement partners are unwavering in our resolve to find and prosecute those who exploit our children,” Hogsett said. “As this case shows, you are not anonymous online – if you engage in this behavior, you will be identified and you will be prosecuted.”

According to charging documents, law enforcement first began their investigation in June 2013, when an undercover member of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Southern Indiana Child Exploitation Task Force connected with a computer that was allegedly sharing sexuallyexplicit images depicting young children. After downloading a number of these files from the user, investigators traced the online activity to a home in Evansville.

As a result of this information, a federal search warrant was executed on August 13 at the Evansville home of defendant Thompson. Federal agents interviewed Thompson and took his computer equipment into custody. A preliminary forensic examination of these computers allegedly revealed thousands of images and videos of child pornography depicting young girls between the ages of 3 and 12 years old.

According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Shellenbarger, who is prosecuting the case for the government, Thompson faces up to twenty years in federal prison if he is convicted. In addition, the defendant also could be sentenced to a lifetime term of supervised release at the end of his prison term, as well as registration as a sexual offender.

This arrest comes as Hogsett has announced a comprehensive crackdown on child exploitation in Indiana. Just last year, he launched “Operation Community Watch,” which will allow prosecutors and investigators to use cutting-edge techniques to identify and charge people in Hoosier communities who are engaged in the receipt and trafficking of child pornography materials. In this case, these efforts were facilitated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Evansville Police Department.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a larger nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Hogsett pointed out that in the last Project Safe Childhood reporting year, the Office prosecuted 52 defendants, an increase of 37% over the prior year, and 49 defendants were convicted and sentenced. These are all-time records for the Office.

The greatest measure of the PSC program’s impact, however, is the identification and rescue of child victims of sexual exploitation and abuse. Over the last year, the U.S. Attorney’s Office successfully identified more than 120 child victims, including minors in Indiana, numerous places in the United States, Canada, Switzerland, and other countries around the world.

Led nationally by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), 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 to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

Informations, indictments, and criminal complaints are only a charge and are not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

INDIANAPOLIS – Joseph H. Hogsett, the United States Attorney, announced today that Derek Walton, age 31, of Liberty, has been charged with child exploitation. Hogsett said the filing of formal charges comes as his office has launched Operation Community Watch, a new effort which aims to reduce the abuse of Hoosier children through innovative investigative techniques and aggressive prosecution.

“These cases are always difficult, both as a prosecutor and as a parent,” Hogsett said. “They are even more troubling when the allegations involve a law enforcement official who was entrusted with protecting Hoosier communities. This is what Operation Community Watch was designed to do, however – hold accountable those who endanger our children, no matter who they are.”

According to a criminal complaint unsealed today, Walton has been employed as a reserve Sheriff’s Deputy at the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office since 2004, where he works as a jail officer. Walton has previously been employed by the Union County Sheriff’s Office as a reserve deputy and jail officer. Prior to that position, Walton was employed by the Richmond Police Department and served as a deputy marshal for the Laurel Police Department.

In 2011, federal law enforcement became aware of an individual allegedly sending images and videos of child pornography through an AOL email account. This account was shut down by AOL after a complaint was registered. A second email account was discovered by federal agents while investigating a sexual offender, who had exchanged child pornography with the account in question. These two email accounts, along with an additional account known to law enforcement agents, have been allegedly traced to Walton. This includes an account that was allegedly accessed repeatedly from the Franklin County Security Center.

As a result of this investigation, federal agents served a search warrant at Walton’s home on Friday, August 16. During the search, agents allegedly located a laptop, as well as a thumb drive that was hidden behind a mirror in the main bedroom of Walton’s home. That thumb drive was allegedly found to contain a number of pornographic images and videos depicting a minor female. In addition, agents found a small video camera hidden in a can in the living room. This camera was found to contain additional explicit materials showing a minor female.

According to Senior Litigation Counsel Steven D. DeBrota and Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Myers, who are prosecuting the case for the government, Walton faces decades in federal prison if he is found guilty of child exploitation. In addition, Walton also could be sentenced to years of supervised release, and lifetime registration as a sexual predator.

This arrest comes as Hogsett has announced a comprehensive crackdown on child exploitation in Indiana. Just last year, he launched “Operation Community Watch,” which will allow prosecutors and investigators to use cutting-edge techniques to identify and charge people in Hoosier communities who are engaged in the receipt and trafficking of child pornography materials. In this case, these efforts were facilitated by Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Indiana State Police, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, as well as the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a larger nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Hogsett pointed out that in the last Project Safe Childhood reporting year, the Office prosecuted 52 defendants, an increase of 37% over the prior year, and 49 defendants were convicted and sentenced. These are all-time records for the Office. The Office conviction rate for PSC cases was 100%, a level it has been at since 1991.

The greatest measure of the PSC program’s impact, however, is the identification and rescue of child victims of sexual exploitation and abuse. Over the last year, the U.S. Attorney’s Office successfully identified more than 120 child victims, including minors in Indiana, numerous places in the United States, Canada, Switzerland, and other countries around the world.

Led nationally by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), 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 to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

Informations, indictments, and criminal complaints are only a charge and are not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

INDIANAPOLIS – Joseph H. Hogsett, the United States Attorney, announced today that federal charges have been filed against Delenore Lowell McTarsney, age 53, of Speedway. According to a criminal complaint unsealed this afternoon, McTarsney is alleged to threatened the life of a federal judge and other local officials in a series of comments posted online.

“We in the law enforcement community are committed to doing all within our power to ensure the safety of all those who work in or around our criminal justice system,” Hogsett said. “Due to the very real threat posed by violence and terrorism, the U.S. Attorney’s Office takes seriously all threats – whether they are made online or offline.”

The criminal complaint alleges that in June 2012, McTarsney began posting hundreds of comments in response to a YouTube video submitted by a local attorney. These comments were generally concerned with the defendant’s belief that he was the victim of a conspiracy that involved the local attorney as well as a number of other individuals associated with the Indianapolis legal community, including a current federal bankruptcy judge.

These comments were allegedly posted throughout 2012, and continued into early 2013. In January 2013, a number of these comments allegedly began referencing specific acts of violence that the defendant stated he would undertake against those he believed had conspired against him. These threats included descriptions of violent acts against the local attorney, as well as the federal judge, whose home address was included in these online threats.

The defendant’s alleged actions were investigated by agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, as well as representatives of the U.S. Marshals service. On August 10, 2013, the defendant was arrested at his home and charged with making online threats.

According to Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sharon M. Jackson, who is prosecuting the case for the government, McTarsney faces up to five years in prison if he is convicted, as well as fines and federally-supervised release at the end of his prison term.

A criminal complaint is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

INDIANAPOLIS – United States Attorney Joseph H. Hogsett announced this afternoon the sentencing of Evansville resident Floyd Patrick Williams, age 48, to 15 years in federal prison following his admission that he attempted to produce child pornography. Hogsett said these results come as he continues Operation Community Watch, a new effort which aims to reduce the abuse of Hoosier children through new investigative techniques and aggressive prosecution.

“Working with our Operation Community Watch partners in Vanderburgh County and around the state, we are sending a warning to those who seek to exploit Hoosier children,” Hogsett said. “If you engage in this type of activity, there is no place to run or hide – we will find you, and you will be brought to justice.”

According to court documents, an Evansville Police Department Officer observed the defendant at the Evansville Central Library in April 2012. Over the course of a few minutes, the officer watched as the defendant on multiple occasions followed young boys into the bathroom of the library. A witness reported to the officer that Williams was looking between the stall openings at the young boys, and when questioned, one of the boys indicated Williams had put a camera phone over the stall and appeared to be taking pictures of the victim.

Williams was later arrested by the Evansville Police Department, at which time officers found the defendant to be in possession of both a phone and a “thumb drive.” A search of those items revealed a number of video recordings of minor boys urinating in public restrooms, including the Evansville Central Library. A search of Williams’ criminal history revealed a 2007 felony voyeurism conviction in Indianapolis for taking photographs of young boys in public restrooms.

According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd S. Shellenbarger, the defendant was ordered by Chief U.S. District Judge Richard L. Young to serve lifetime supervised release at the end of his prison term. These charges were the result of an investigation by the Department of Justice Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Cyber Crimes Task Force, along with the Evansville Police Department.

This prosecution comes as Hogsett has announced a comprehensive crackdown on child exploitation in Indiana. Earlier this year, he launched “Operation Community Watch,” which will allow prosecutors and investigators to use cutting-edge techniques to identify and charge people in Hoosier communities who are engaged in the receipt and trafficking of child pornography materials.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a larger nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Hogsett pointed out that in the last Project Safe Childhood reporting year, the Office prosecuted 52 defendants, an increase of 37% over the prior year, and 49 defendants were convicted and sentenced. These are all-time records for the Office. The Office conviction rate for PSC cases was 100%, a level it has been at since 1991.

The greatest measure of the PSC program’s impact, however, is the identification and rescue of child victims of sexual exploitation and abuse. Over the last year, the U.S. Attorney’s Office successfully identified more than 120 child victims, including minors in Indiana, numerous places in the United States, Canada, Switzerland, and other countries around the world.

Led nationally by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), 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 to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

INDIANAPOLIS – Joseph H. Hogsett, the United States Attorney, announced today that Samuel E. Sallee, age 55, a resident of Bartholomew County, has been brought into federal custody after being charged with illegally possessing a firearm. Sallee’s criminal history includes a number of prior felonies, including a 2005 charge of intimidation in Jennings County, a 1989 charge of driving while intoxicated in Bartholomew County, and additional charges related to the use of controlled substances.

“With the launch of our Violent Crime Initiative, this office pledged to fully support our local law enforcement partners in their public safety efforts,” Hogsett said. “We continue to work closely with Bartholomew County law enforcement in this matter, and we are committed to ensuring this defendant is held to account for any crimes he has committed.”

An indictment returned on May 14, 2013, alleges that law enforcement found Sallee to have possessed a Ruger, Model 10/22 .22 caliber rifle, serial number 157425. Due to his prior felony convictions, Sallee is not legally permitted to possess a firearm.

Court documents unsealed today provide additional details as to the investigation and arrest of Sallee. According to the criminal complaint, four victims (three male, one female) were found deceased at a Bartholomew County residence on May 11, 2013. Investigators allege that Sallee had been present at the residence earlier in the day, where he was allegedly attempting to trade one of the victims a .22 caliber rifle for some quantity of methamphetamine.

A search warrant was executed at Sallee’s residence on May 14, 2013. During the search of a detached garage, law enforcement allegedly located the Ruger .22 caliber rifle, as well as additional evidence, including several pieces of jewelry that have been identified as having belonged to the female victim.

The defendant had previously been held in the Brown County jail on unrelated state charges, but had a “hold” placed on him as a result of the federal indictment. Upon his scheduled release this morning, Sallee was taken into federal custody by agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and transported to Indianapolis for an initial appearance.

This prosecution comes as part of the U.S. Attorney’s Violent Crime Initiative, and is the result of a collaborative investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Office, the Bartholomew County Prosecutor’s Office, as well as the U.S. Marshals Service.

Announced in March of 2011, the Violent Crime Initiative represents a district-wide strategy to work with local law enforcement and county prosecutors to combat drug traffickers and criminals that use and carry firearms in their illegal activities. The VCI has produced a dramatic increase in the number of gun-related charges brought federally. In the year preceding the initiative, there were just 14 defendants charged with federal gun crimes by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. In the nearly two years since, more than 200 defendants have been charged.

According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew P. Brookman, who is prosecuting the case for the government, Sallee faces up to ten years in federal prison if he is convicted. A criminal complaint or an indictment are only charges and are not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.