Youth Basketball Coach Indicted for Kiddie Porn Enticement

A press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office:

Youth Basketball Coach Indicted on Child Pornography Charges for Allegedly Enticing Boys to Engage in Sexually Explicit Photos and Videos

CHICAGO — A youth basketball coach from Chicago has been indicted on federal child pornography charges for allegedly paying minor boys to be photographed and video-recorded while engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

BRADLEY J. AMES, 35, and a co-conspirator paid approximately $100 to $650 to the minor boys in return for being photographed and video-recorded while engaged in various sexual acts, according to the indictment.  Ames and the co-conspirator then transmitted the photos and videos over the Internet, the indictment states.

The pair met most of the minors online after the co-conspirator set up a Facebook profile for a fictitious female named “Hannah,” and used it to encourage young males to share photos and information about themselves, according to the indictment.  Ames then selected certain minors who had communicated with “Hannah” so that the co-conspirator could pursue sexually explicit photos and videos of them, the indictment states.

The six-count indictment was returned yesterday in federal court in Chicago.  It charges Ames with one count of conspiracy to produce child pornography, four counts of producing child pornography, and one count of knowingly receiving child pornography.

Ames will be arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffrey T. Gilbert on June 15, 2016, at 1:45 p.m.

In addition to contacting children online, the indictment alleges that Ames identified at least one minor victim through a boy he met while coaching youth basketball.

Ames provided the minor’s Facebook page to the co-conspirator to facilitate contacting the child, the indictment states.  The indictment further alleges that Ames sometimes paid the co-conspirator to engage in sexually explicit conduct with the minors.

Zachary Fardon

Zachary Fardon

The indictment was announced by Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and James M. Gibbons, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

The conspiracy and production counts are punishable by a minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and a maximum of 30 years, while knowingly receiving child pornography carries a minimum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum of 20 years.

The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt.  The defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.  If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Yusef Dale.


Comments

Youth Basketball Coach Indicted for Kiddie Porn Enticement — 1 Comment

  1. He was indicted January 2015 by the same office.

    He worked at the Park District in Oak Park and is a professional sports agent.

    The Chicago Tribune has an article about him.

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