Springfield, IL-(ENEWSPF)- Stephen R. Wigginton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today that on July 10, 2012, Donald R. Campbell, 49, of Mt. Carmel, Illinois, was named in a two-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury sitting in Benton, Illinois. Campbell’s arraignment on the charges is currently set for Monday, July 16, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. at the federal court in Benton, Illinois.
Both counts of the indictment charge Campbell with enticing a minor to engage in sex acts while he videotaped the events.
An indictment is a formal charge against a defendant. Under the law, a defendant is presumed to be innocent of a charge until proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt to the satisfaction of a jury.
With respect to each count, Campbell faces from 15 to 30 years in prison, up to a $250,000 fine, and from five years to lifetime term of supervised release to follow his incarceration.
The investigation in this case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation Southern Illinois Cyber Crimes Task Force and a number of state and local law enforcement agencies.
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 individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “Resources.”
The case is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Thomas E. Leggans.
