Sacramento, California - A federal grand jury returned an indictment today against Nathan Alexander Drury, 36, of Chico, charging him with nine counts of production of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.

According to court documents, between January 2013 and December 2014, Drury filmed and photographed sexually explicit images of a prepubescent child. Drury also possessed additional images of children engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

This case is the product of an investigation by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Chico Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Brian A. Fogerty is prosecuting the case.

Drury has been in custody since he was arrested on March 23, 2015. He is scheduled to be arraigned today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Dale A. Drozd in Sacramento.

If convicted, each of the production of child pornography counts carries a maximum statutory penalty of 30 years in prison. If convicted of the possession of child pornography charge, Drury faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison. Each charge in the indictment carries a potential fine of $250,000. 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. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. Click on the “resources” tab for information about Internet safety education.