A Big Island man was indicted by a federal grand
jury in Honolulu on Wednesday on six counts of producing child pornography.
John Tucker, 56, allegedly used two minor children to produce
six images of child pornography in 2008.
The case first came to the FBI's attention in 2010, when a series
of photographs surfaced on the Internet that depicted a man, who sources
confirmed as Tucker, engaging in graphic sexual acts with two
pre-teenaged children, a girl and a boy. The photos were widely
circulated among various illegal Internet forums for the sharing of child
pornography.
Investigators
for the FBI and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children enhanced
one of the photos to develop an image of what appears to be a 2008 Hawaiian
Telcom phone book for Hawaii's Big Island in the background. The image led
investigators to believe that the photos were taken between 2008 and 2010. A
desktop computer in the background of another photo leads investigators to
conclude that the photo was likely not taken in a hotel room.
According
to court documents, investigators were able to interview the boy and the girl,
who identified themselves and Tucker in the photos. Investigators also spent
much of yesterday afternoon and evening searching Tucker's home. Court
documents say a computer seized in the search contained other images of child
pornography.
The
grand jury indictment contains six charges, each of which carries a minimum
penalty of
fifteen years in jail and up to thirty years of imprisonment, as well as a
potential lifetime term of supervised release.
Tucker
has been arrested and being held without bail.
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