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Rose Hill man guilty of federal child porn charges

BIG STONE GAP — Robert Franklin Doyle Jr., 46, of Rose Hill, was found guilty by a federal jury Wednesday of five child pornography charges and now faces a mandatory minimum of five years in prison and a maximum of 90 years. He could additionally be fined up to $1.25 million when he is sentenced on Feb. 24.

Doyle, who has been in custody since last February, was found guilty in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Big Stone Gap of one count of receiving child pornography, one count of possessing child pornography, and three counts of distributing child pornography.

“Protecting our children from online predators is one of our office’s highest priorities,” U.S. Attorney Julia C. Dudley said Friday in announcing the conviction. “I am grateful to the men and women who served on the jury that held Mr. Doyle accountable for his actions.”

According to evidence presented at trial by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Gene Fishel and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Bockhorst, between August 2003 and January 2004 Doyle knowingly received, via e-mail, images he knew contained child pornography. During this time he also transmitted images he knew contained child pornography.

“It is imperative that we work to bring to justice those who continue to exploit children through the possession and distribution of child pornography. Our office has worked closely with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the U.S. Secret Service to resolve this case in a just manner. I commend the prosecutors and law enforcement officers who worked diligently to see this case through,” said Virginia Attorney General Bob McDonnell.

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 U.S. Attorneys Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood uses 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 visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

The investigation of the case was conducted by the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, Virginia State Police and the U.S. Secret Service.

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