Grand Rapids, Michigan – February 2, 2006 – United States Attorney Margaret M. Chiara and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announce that on February 1, 2006, James Albert Scott, age 63, of Portage, Michigan, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gordon J. Quist to 360 months of incarceration, to be followed by lifetime supervised release, for producing visual depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2251(a). Mr. Scott pleaded guilty to the charge on September 29, 2005.

In February 2005, the FBI developed information that Mr. Scott was trading child pornography images through the internet. An FBI agent, acting in an undercover capacity, exchanged a series of E-mails and developed evidence for a search warrant. On June 9, 2005, the FBI executed the search warrant at Mr. Scott’s residence in Portage, Michigan, and seized computers and numerous CD-ROMs and diskettes.

Forensic examination of the seized evidence disclosed approximately 19,000 images of child pornography and evidence that Mr. Scott had been photographing himself sexually assaulting a six-year-old child and then distributing those images. Mr. Scott was arrested on July 26, 2005. He has been held in custody since.

Investigation of this matter was conducted through the joint efforts of the FBI, Portage Police Department, Child Protective Services, and Kalamazoo County Prosecutor’s Office. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel Y. Mekaru.