North Wilkesboro Man Admits Having Child Porn

A North Wilkesboro man has admitted to possessing child pornography in federal court. 37-year old Richard Harrold entered the plea Friday, according to a news release form the U-S Attorney in Buffalo, New York. The plea is the result of a deal with prosecutors after Harrold allegedly sent illegal photos of children to an FBI agent he met online. According to the U-S Attorney, Harrold emailed the photos numerous times form 2004 until he was arrested late last summer. He is to be sentenced in May and faces a possible 10-year prison term, a quarter-million dollar fine, and wiil have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.



He was caught as a result of the Innocent Images National Initiative, part of a program known as Project Safe Childhood. In February 2006, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys Offices, Project Safe Childhood 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.