Kyle Gregory Speed Charged with Possession of Child Porn

A substitute teacher from Colorado Springs has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Denver on charges of transportation and possession of child pornography Tuesday.

According to the indictment, on July 2, 2008, 52-year-old Kyle Gregory Speed of Colorado Springs, traded two video files depicting children engaging in sexual intercourse on his computer. In addition, the indictment alleges that between July 1995 through January 16, 2009, Speed possessed three different computers containing child pornography. Speed is also alleged to possess a 1 GB thumb drive containing child pornography.

Speed made his initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Denver Tuesday afternoon, where he was advised of the charges pending against him. He is scheduled to appear next in Court on Friday, July 31, 2009, for arraignment and a detention hearing. He faces seven counts in the indictment. Counts 1 and 2 alleged that he transported child pornography across state lines. If convicted, he faces not less than 5 years, and up to 20 years in federal prison, as well as a fine of $250,000 per count. Counts 3 through 6 alleged that Speed possessed child pornography. If convicted on those counts, he faces not more than 10 years imprisonment, and up to a $250,000 fine per count. In addition, Count 7 is the asset forfeiture count.

"The U.S. Attorney's Office will continue to prosecute child predators, especially those who prey on their victims from a position of trust," said Acting U.S. Attorney David Gaouette.

"All children have an absolute right to grow up free from the fear of being sexually exploited," said Jeffrey Copp, Special Agent in Charge of the ICE Office of Investigations in Denver. "And children should never have to fear those who are supposed to protect them. ICE will relentlessly pursue anyone who sexually exploits our most vulnerable asset, our children," Copp said.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), 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.