California Man Sentenced for Production of Child Pornography

NORFOLK, VA—Cole Machado, 25, of Eureka, California, was sentenced today in Norfolk federal court to 327 months in prison and lifetime supervised release for production child pornography.

Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, made the announcement after Machado was sentenced by Chief United States District Judge Rebecca Beach Smith. Machado previously pled guilty to the charge on September 20, 2011.

According to court documents, in November and December of 2009, Machado produced child pornography involving two different minors and also distributed images of child pornography to a local man in Norfolk. Machado was identified when the Norfolk man, who was previously sentenced for distribution of child pornography, possessed images of child pornography that Machado had sent to him and that Machado had produced himself while in California.

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, 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.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office in California. Assistant United States Attorney Elizabeth M. Yusi prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.