LOUISVILLE, Ky. (NEWS RELEASE) – A Louisville man, 33-year-old Patrick Newman, is charged with enticement, production and possession of child pornography on Tuesday, June 2.
He was employed by the Archdiocese of Louisville as a high school teacher and assistant coach with the school's athletics department. He began teaching at Trinity High School in 2013. He was arrested on June 2, appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Dave Whalin and was charged in a criminal complaint with violating child exploitation laws, according to Acting United States Attorney John E. Kuhn, Jr.
Newman is charged with engaging in unlawful online communications with a 13-year-old male ("John Doe"). Officials said the two used social media applications VINE and KIK for their communications. Newman used a means or facility of interstate commerce to knowingly persuade, induce, entice or coerce John Doe to engage in sexual activity for which a person can be charged with a criminal offense. During the online communications, Newman used, persuaded, induced, enticed, or coerced a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing any visual depiction of such conduct, knowing or having reason to know that such visual depiction would be transported or transmitted using any means or facility of interstate commerce. In addition, Newman is charged with possession of child pornography.
"At this point, the charges relate only to online activity," Acting U.S. Attorney John Kuhn said. "Law enforcement has no information at present about criminal conduct other than online activity. These very disturbing allegations should underscore how important it is for parents to be aware of their children's internet activity. The Department of Justice is committed to our children's safety and to prosecuting those who prey on the most vulnerable."
According to the Affidavit attached to the criminal complaint, on Jan. 23, 2015, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received a CyberTip from Twitter, Inc. regarding the upload of 12 child pornography videos to VINE (a video sharing website owned by Twitter) and one image, uploaded from the same IP address in Texas, between 12-28-2014 and 12-30-2014.
Further, an investigation by a Texas Police Department revealed that a 13-year-old male had exchanged nude/sexually explicit photographs of himself with an adult male in March, 2015 using KIK messenger. John Doe further described several sexually explicit conversations with the adult male in which sexually explicit photographs and videos were traded between them. John Doe stated the adult male would instruct him to engage in various sexual acts and send videos/photos of the acts to him. John Doe stated that the individual sent him a facial picture and described the man as Caucasian, bald, with a dark beard. According to John Doe, the adult male told him he lived in Oklahoma. An investigation by Texas law enforcement revealed the IP address of the KIK account belonged to Louisville, Kentucky subscriber, defendant Patrick Newman.
A search warrant of Newman's Louisville home was executed Tuesday morning by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Newman was arrested and is currently in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service. A detention hearing is scheduled before Magistrate Judge Whalin Friday, June 5, 2015 at 1:30 p.m.
If convicted at trial, Newman faces a mandatory prison term of 15 years and up to and including a life sentence, and up to and including a life period of supervised release.
On Trinity's website, on June 3, a letter to parents stated that Newman would not be returning to work in any capacity at Trinity.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jo E. Lawless and is being investigated by HSI Louisville Division of the Department of Homeland Security.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."
The following statement is from Trinity High School: "We have been informed that a faculty member has been charged with a crime involving internet pornography. We do not believe this has any relationship to the school. He has been placed on an indefinite leave pending further investigation. We are always concerned for the safety and well-being of young people and we will assist authorities as we can."
