Canadian Man Sentenced to 8½ Years in Prison for Transporting Child Pornography

Portland, Maine:  United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Kevin Rockwell, 32, of Leduc, Alberta, Canada, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court by Judge Jon D. Levy to 8½ years in prison and 10 years of supervised release for transporting child pornography. Rockwell pleaded guilty to the charge on October 29, 2014.

According to court records, in April 2013, Rockwell, who was in Canada, sent an email message to the undercover email account of a Special Agent with Homeland Security Investigations in Maine. Attached to the email was a file containing 38 images of sexually explicit conduct involving young children. Rockwell was indicted in the District of Maine in May 2013, and his extradition from Canada was sought. The Canadian Minister of Justice ordered him surrendered to American law enforcement officials in May 2014.

The investigation was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams. U.S. Attorney Thomas Delahanty said, “The internet has made the distribution of child pornography an international problem. The bi-national cooperation of American and Canadian law enforcement agencies, so crucial to tackling crimes spanning the two countries, was a key factor in bringing Mr. Rockwell to justice.”

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. The initiative, which is led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, 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.