A. Courtney Cox, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced that on Tuesday, Kenneth Lewis Gordon, 27, of Carterville was named in a one-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury sitting in Benton.

The indictment charges that on Aug. 14, 2009, Gordon possessed child pornography that has been mailed or shipped or transported in interstate commerce by any means, including by computer.

An indictment is a formal charge against a defendant. Under the law, a defendant is presumed to be innocent of a charge until proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt to the satisfaction of a jury.

Gordon had his initial appearance in U.S. District Court on Thursday. He has been ordered into the custody of the U.S. Marshal Service pending trial, which is scheduled for April 2010 in Benton.

Gordon faces up to 10 years’ imprisonment, up to a $250,000 fine and from five years to lifetime supervised release.

The investigation in this case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation Southern Illinois Cyber Crimes Task Force, the Carterville Police Department and a number of state and local law enforcement agencies.  This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, in which the U.S. Attorney’s Office, in conjunction with federal and state law enforcement authorities, is actively investigating and prosecuting individuals who produce, distribute or possess child pornography.

Anyone with information concerning the use of the Internet for the purposes of possessing, producing, or trafficking in child pornography is encouraged to contact the Federal Bureau of Investigation or their local police department.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney George A. Norwood.