Sacramento, California - A federal grand jury returned an indictment on December 5, against Timothy Allen Horwath, 50, of Redding, charging him with receipt of child pornography, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to court documents, between Feb. 25 and Oct. 10, Horwath knowingly received visual depictions of children engaging in sexually explicit conduct. Horwath was arrested at his residence and made his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Allison Claire.

This case is the product of an investigation by the California Highway Patrol’s Computer Crime Investigation Unit, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Sacramento Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, a federally and state-funded task force managed by the Sacramento Sheriff’s Department with agents from federal, state, and local agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christina McCall is prosecuting the case.

If convicted, Horwath faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and restitution to the victims of the offense. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the 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, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims