San Francisco, California - A former Humboldt County juvenile corrections officer pleaded guilty Wednesday to possession of child pornography, following a probe by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Humboldt County District Attorney’s Office.
Keith Monroe Wallace, 53, of Eureka, entered his plea in federal court. Prior to his arrest Feb. 26, Wallace was employed by the Humboldt County Juvenile Probation Office as a supervising juvenile corrections officer at the Northern California Regional Facility in Eureka. In connection with his guilty plea, Wallace admitted he knowingly possessed 600 or more images of prepubescent minors or minors under 12 engaging in sexually explicit conduct. The images included depictions of sadistic or masochistic conduct and other depictions of violence.
According to court documents, HSI special agents began investigating Wallace as part of a probe into the sexual exploitation of children in northern California. On Feb. 26, HSI special agents executed a federal search warrant at Wallace’s Eureka residence and took the defendant into custody. During that enforcement action, HSI special agents and investigators with the Humboldt County District Attorney’s Office seized various computers and digital media storage devices. A forensic review of those devices and digital media revealed videos and images depicting minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct.
Wallace was indicted by a federal grand jury March 10 on one count of possession of child pornography. He pleaded guilty to that charge. Wallace, who is currently in federal custody, will be sentenced Sept. 9. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Claudia A. Quiroz is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Marina Ponomarchuk.
Members of the public who have information relevant to this case or other leads related to online child sexual exploitation crimes, are encouraged to call the ICE tip line at 1-866-347-2423 (1-866-DHS-2ICE) or complete an online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators. Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may also be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, via its toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-THE-LOST. For additional information about wanted suspected child predators, download HSI’s Operation Predator smartphone app or visit the online suspect alerts page.
This probe was conducted under the auspices of the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood and HSI’s Operation Predator, two initiatives aimed at locating, arresting and prosecuting individuals who sexually exploit children and rescuing their victims.
Since the launch of Operation Predator in 2003, HSI has arrested more than 12,000 individuals for crimes against children, including the production and distribution of online child pornography, traveling overseas for sex with minors, and sex trafficking of children.
