UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE EASTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA ALEXANDRIA    NEWPORT NEWS    NORFOLK    RICHMOND CHUCK ROSENBERG, UNITED STATES ATTORNEY

RICHMOND MAN INDICTED FOR RECEIPT OF CHILD PORNOGRAPHY

(Richmond, Virginia) - Steven Gerstenfeld, age 47, of Richmond, Virginia, was indicted by a federal grand jury today on one count of knowing receipt of child pornography. Gerstenfeld faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 5 years in prison, a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, and supervised release after prison for at least 5 years up to life. Chuck Rosenberg, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Mark McGraw, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Washington Field Office, and Jennifer Love, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Richmond Field Office, made the announcement.

Gerstenfeld came to the attention of law enforcement during the course of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) undercover initiative known as “Project Flicker.” In April 2006, ICE initiated an investigation into a criminal organization operating and controlling numerous commercial child exploitation websites. The investigation determined that the same criminal organization was operating essentially a two-tiered child pornography distribution system. Numerous websites were set up to advertise access to member-restricted websites. From these advertising websites users would pay for access, usually through the services of PayPal, to obtain unlimited access for one month to a member-restricted website containing child pornography images. Following the PayPal transaction, members were emailed a user name and password to gain access to the restricted website.

According to documents filed in court, federal investigators obtained records from PayPal indicating that from October 2006 to March 2007 Gerstenfeld allegedly subscribed at least six times to member-restricted websites that were distributing child pornography. For those PayPal transactions Gerstenfeld allegedly provided his email account at the University of Richmond, where he was then employed as the head coach for the men’s tennis team. On October 23, 2007, investigators with ICE, the FBI and the University of Richmond Police Department executed a federal search warrant on the defendant’s office at the University, where they seized the defendant’s computer. Later forensic analysis of this computer revealed evidence of numerous alleged images of child pornography.

Assistant United States Attorney Brian R. Hood is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.

Criminal indictments are only charges and not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty.