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         Aug.25, 2008

OVERLAND PARK MAN SENTENCED TO 12.5 YEARS FOR CHILD PORNOGRAPHY

KANSAS CITY, KAN. - Brian D. Harris, 42, Overland Park, Kan., was sentenced to 151 months in federal prison for distribution of child pornography, U.S. Attorney Eric Melgren announced Monday.

Photos of a dozen child abuse victims previously identified by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children were found on his computer.

For example, investigators found images on Harris' computer from a series of photos identified by NCMEC as "the Golden Angel." The child who appears in the photos was found in Germany by the German Federal Police.

In June, Harris pleaded guilty to one count of distributing child pornography. In his plea, he admitted that he installed file sharing programs Kazaa and Morpheus on his computer. He used the programs to download files containing child pornography from other users. In turn, other users downloaded images of child pornography from his computer.

In November 2006, an agent with the FBI Cyber Crimes Task Force downloaded a file from Harris' computer with the name "08 yo rides grandpa," which contained images of an adult male having sex with a young female, and another file that contained a 5-minute movie of an adult male having sex with a young female. Investigators followed an electronic trail to Harris' computer in Shawnee, Kan., where they served a search warrant on Nov. 30, 2006.

A forensic examination of the computer found more than 60 movie files containing child pornography, including images of children younger than 3 years old being anally raped.

Melgren commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kim Martin for their work on the case.

This case is being prosecuted under the U.S. Department of Justice's Project Safe Childhood, which aims to protect children from sexual predators. For more information, visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.