Grand Rapids, Michigan – April 5, 2007 – United States Attorney Brian K. Delaney and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announce that, on April 4, 2007, Richard Charles Pahl, Jr., age 45, of Eden Prairie, Minnesota, formerly of Stevensville, Michigan, was sentenced to serve a total of forty years in prison for producing child pornography.

Mr. Pahl pled guilty on October 23, 2006, to two counts of producing images of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 2251(a) and (e). He was sentenced to consecutive twenty-year terms for each count, resulting in the total term of imprisonment of forty years. Following his release from prison, Mr. Pahl will spend the remainder of his life on supervised release. He was also ordered to pay a $5,000 fine, and to make restitution in the amount of $2,000 to two of the victims. The Honorable Robert Holmes Bell, Chief United States District Judge for the Western District of Michigan, presided over the sentencing.

Mr. Pahl was the Executive Director of the Link Crisis Intervention Center in St. Joseph, Michigan, from October 1994 to October 2005. The Link merged with Child and Family Services of Southwestern Michigan, located in Benton Harbor, Michigan, and Mr. Pahl became the Associate Director from October 2005 to December 2005. In January 2006, he began employment as the Executive Director at the Freeport West crisis center for troubled children in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area.

In April 2006, Mr. Pahl was arrested in Minnesota on charges of sexually assaulting a child, to which he pled guilty in May 2006. Following his Minnesota conviction, he was transported to Michigan to face the instant federal charges.

In imposing sentence, Chief Judge Bell noted that Mr. Pahl misused his masters degree in social work and his career working with troubled children to target these particularly vulnerable children. Judge Bell also noted that Mr. Pahl’s victims will have to live with the effects of this offense long after he has passed from this world.

Mr. Delaney commended all of the investigators and prosecutors in this case, stating: “This case is an outstanding example of the cooperative efforts that typify Project Safe Childhood. The United States Attorney’s Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Berrien County Sheriff’s Department, the Berrien County Prosecutor’s Office, Lincoln Township Police Department, Eden Prairie, Minnesota, Police Department, and all of our coalition partners are dedicated to the investigation and prosecution of criminals who prey on our children.”

Project Safe Childhood is a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. The United States Attorney’s Office, County Prosecutor’s Offices, federal, state, and local law enforcement are working closely together to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children. The partners in Project Safe Childhood work to educate local communities about the dangers of child pornography, and to teach children how to protect themselves. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit the following web site: www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

Prosecution of this case is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Daniel Mekaru.