Swansea Man Charged with Production of Child Pornography

A Swansea man was arraigned in federal court on April 12, 2011, on a two-count indictment charging him with production of child pornography, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois Stephen R. Wigginton and St. Clair County State’s Attorney Brendan Kelly jointly announced today. If convicted, Cory Reibel, 23, of Swansea, Ill. faces a term of imprisonment of not less than 15 years but not more than 30 years, a $250,000 fine, and a term of supervised release of five years to life on each count. Reibel’s trial is scheduled for June 14, 2011, in federal court in East St. Louis. Reibel was ordered detained (held without bond) pending trial.

The violations occurred on or about February 6 and February 19, 2011, when Reibel allegedly took nude photos of a 3-year-old engaged in sexually explicit conduct involving the lascivious display of the minor’s genital area.

Reibel was initially charged in St. Clair County with aggravated child pornography. United States Attorney Wigginton and St. Clair County State’s Attorney Kelly, in a cooperative effort to ensure that Reibel receives the most just sentence and maximum punishment for his actions, decided that federal prosecution would better accomplish that goal. The St. Clair County State’s Attorney’s Office therefore agreed to drop its charges against Reibel so that the United States Attorney’s Office could proceed with a federal indictment. Both offices will continue to work together to ensure that individuals who victimize children will receive the harshest penalty provided by law.

An indictment is merely the method by which federal charges are lodged. A defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

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 United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (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.

The case was investigated by the Swansea Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Metro East Cyber Crimes and Analysis Task Force. The case is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Angela Scott.