Hogsett Praises Local/Federal Cooperation that Led to Federal Charges Against Madison Resident

INDIANAPOLIS—United States Attorney Joseph H. Hogsett today reaffirmed his office’s commitment to the prosecution of offenders in Madison and all of Indiana’s communities. “This office is marshaling its resources to keep every Hoosier community safer, as we aggressively pursue the worst of the worst criminal offenders,” stated Hogsett. “The reduction of violent crime in Indiana is a top priority of this office, and we intend to continue to protect Hoosier children and families by the aggressive prosecution of any federal crime against children.”

Hogsett announced that as part of that effort, formal charges were filed today against Jason Helm, 30, of Madison, Ind., with distribution and possession of child pornography. The charging document alleges that Helm distributed child pornography images from Madison to the state of Georgia, including images depicting children who were less than 2 years old. Helm is also charged with the possession of other images of child pornography. Helm was arrested on March 2, 2011, and has been detained in jail pending the formal charging process since that time. The investigation was conducted by the FBI, the Indiana State Police, and the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

According to Assistant U.S. Attorney A. Brant Cook, who is prosecuting this cases for the government, Helm faces up to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and the possibility of supervised release (parole) for up to the rest of his life. “Though we are seeing an increase in the trafficking of child pornography depicting infants, such images remain rare and are particularly disturbing,” stated Cook. An initial hearing for Helm will be held in the United Stated District Court in New Albany, Indiana sometime in the near future.

An information is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Helm’s charges are part of the ongoing fight to better protect children under Project Safe Childhood. Project Safe Childhood is 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 of child exploitation. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit projectsafechildhood.gov.