WICHITA, KAN. – A federal grand jury in Wichita returned an indictment charging a Kansas man with one count of sexual exploitation of a child – production of child pornography, and one count of possession of child pornography.
Joel Cypert, 35, of Columbus is accused of creating sexually explicit images of a prepubescent, minor victim.
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and U.S. Immigration and Customs (ICE) are investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Molly Gordon is prosecuting the case.
Project Safe Childhood
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. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”
An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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