EAST ST. LOUIS — A 35-year-old Alhambra man has been sentenced in federal court, after he pleaded guilty to child pornography charges brought about by a Homeland Security investigation.
 
Robert E. Godsey was sentenced to 17.5 years in prison on each of a three counts to be served concurrently.
 
Godsey pleaded guilty in December to one count Distribution of Visual Depictions of Minors Engaged in Sexually Explicit Conduct, one count Receipt of Visual Depictions of Minors Engaged in Sexually Explicit Conduct, and one count Possession of Visual Depictions of Prepubescent Minors Engaged in Sexually Explicit Conduct.
 
In July 2014, a special agent with the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), obtained a federal search warrant to search a residence in Alhambra occupied by Godsey and others for evidence of child pornography offenses that may have been committed by Godsey.
 
On the same day that the search warrant was executed, Godsey waived his Miranda rights and provided a voluntary, videotaped statement in which he admitted collecting and trading images and videos of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct with other collectors of child pornography via the internet.
 
A forensic review of the notebook computer and Godsey’s email account revealed numerous video and image files of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct and, as acknowledged by Godsey, some of these images and videos were of minors under the age of twelve.
 
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.
 
The case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations. The case was assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Angela Scott.

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