Tomahawk Man Sentenced to 20 Years for Possession of Child Pornography

MADISON, WI—John W. Vaudreuil, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that James A. Laffin, 46, of Tomahawk, Wis., was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Barbara B. Crabb to 20 years in prison, to be followed by a lifetime of supervised release, for possessing child pornography. Laffin pleaded guilty to this charge on August 30, 2010.

Laffin's 20-year sentence was based in part on his previous conviction for sexual assault of a minor. In addition, Laffin himself took the pictures he was convicted of possessing in this case, and had sexual intercourse with the minor victim. In sentencing Laffin to the statutory maximum sentence, Judge Crabb emphasized that Laffin's extensive criminal history involving aggressive sexual conduct makes it likely that he will continue to commit crimes when not incarcerated.

The charges against Laffin were the result of an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Greenfield Police Department. The prosecution of the case has been handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura A. Przybylinski Finn.

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 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 http://www.projectsafechildhood.gov/.