FORMER USF EDUCATION DEAN PLEADS GUILTY TO POSSESSING OVER 15,000 IMAGES OF CHILD PORNOGRAPHY

           SAN FRANCISCO - United States Attorney Kevin V. Ryan announced that Dr. William T. Garner, the former education dean of the University of San Francisco, pleaded guilty today to possessing over 15,000 images of child pornography. The guilty plea is the result of an investigation by the United States Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

           "This is another example of our ongoing commitment to protect the children in our communities through the Project Safe Childhood initiative. The children depicted in these images are the victims of horrible abuse, and we will vigorously prosecute individuals possessing these materials," said U.S. Attorney Kevin V. Ryan.

           In pleading guilty, Garner admitted that he knowingly possessed visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct between June 10 and July 12, 2006. According to the plea agreement, Garner possessed more than 15,000 images containing child pornography, including images of prepubescent minors and images portraying sadistic or masochistic conduct or other depictions of violence. He obtained the images through the use of the Internet.

           "Anyone who engages in the exploitation of children should no longer expect the anonymity of cyberspace or their position in the community to protect them," said San Francisco ICE Special Agent in Charge Charles DeMore. "This case is particularly disturbing in light of the defendant's role in advising and guiding young people."

           Garner, age 66 and a resident of San Francisco, will be sentenced on March 27, 2007, by Chief United States District Court Judge Vaughn R. Walker. Garner was charged in a one-count Information with violating Title 18 U.S.C. § 2252(a)(4)(B). He was arraigned on December 7, 2006, and released on a $50,000 secured bond until sentencing.

           Garner is Professor Emeritus in the School of Education at the University of San Francisco (USF). He was previously the Dean of the School of Education at USF and was the co-founder and director of the Center for Instruction and Technology at USF.

           Under the terms of the plea agreement, Garner and the government have agreed to recommend a sentence of 63 months imprisonment, a $12,500 fine, a term of supervised release from two to five years, and restitution of $50,000 payable to the San Francisco Child Abuse Prevention Center, a charitable organization located in San Francisco. The Court will impose the sentence and is not required to accept the parties' recommendation.

           Nathanael Cousins is the Special Assistant U.S. Attorney who is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Nai Saelee, legal technician. The prosecution is the result of a six-month investigation by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). ICE agents were assisted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection, and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Further Information:

Case #: 06-0746 VRW

A copy of this press release may be found on the U.S. Attorney's Office's website at www.usdoj.gov/usao/can.

Electronic court filings and further procedural and docket information are available at https://ecf.cand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.

Judges' calendars with schedules for upcoming court hearings can be viewed on the court's website at www.cand.uscourts.gov.

All press inquiries to the U.S. Attorney's Office should be directed to Luke Macaulay at (415) 436-6757 or by email at Luke.Macaulay@usdoj.gov.

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