San Francisco, California - A California man was sentenced Thursday to 16 years and three months in prison for producing child pornography, announced Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert of the Eastern District of California, Special Agent in Charge Ryan Spradlin of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI) San Francisco Field Division and Chief of Police Robert D. Landon of the Yuba City, California, Police Department.
Nathan Penner, 26, of Yuba City, California, pleaded guilty on Nov. 5, 2015, to one count of production of child pornography. U.S. District Judge Troy L. Nunley of the Eastern District of California sentenced Penner today and also ordered him to serve a lifetime term of supervised release.
In connection with his plea, Penner admitted to producing sexually explicit images and videos of a five-year old minor in September and October of 2012. Evidence revealed that Penner shared hundreds of files of child pornography located on his computer and distributed such material using an online chat messaging service.
This case was investigated by HSI and the Yuba City Police Department. Trial Attorney Reginald E. Jones of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Josh F. Sigal of the Eastern District of California prosecuted the case. CEOS’ High Technology Investigative Unit assisted with computer forensic analysis for the case.
This case was brought as 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 Department of Justice. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and 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.
