Carmichael Man Pleads Guilty to Sharing Child Pornography

SACRAMENTO—United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced that Dustin Cassady, 31, of Carmichael, pleaded guilty today to one count of sharing child pornography via a peer-to-peer file sharing network over the Internet.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Matthew G. Morris is prosecuting the case.

According to court documents, on November 20, 2010, an undercover agent was able to download child pornography from a computer that was later traced to Cassady. During a search of his residence, Cassady admitted that he had numerous images and videos of child pornography.

Cassady is scheduled to be sentenced by United States District Judge John A. Mendez on August 28, 2012 at 9:30 a.m. The offense carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.