A federal grand jury has indicted a Sioux Falls woman for Transportation of Child Pornography and Accessing with Intent to View Child Pornography.
Asha Graystone, age 33, pleaded not guilty.
The maximum penalty upon conviction is up to 40 years in federal prison and/or a $250,000 fine, life of supervised release, and up to $200 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Restitution may also be ordered.
Count one of the Indictment alleges that on July 5, 2022, Graystone knowingly uploaded graphic images and videos depicting one or more minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct into an internet website.
Count two of the Indictment alleges that between January 11, 2023, and March 29, 2023, Graystone knowingly accessed the internet with a cell phone, to view images of child pornography which had been shipped and transported using any means and facility of interstate and foreign commerce.
The investigation is being conducted by Homeland Security Investigations and the Sioux Falls Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey C. Clapper is prosecuting the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.
Graystone was released on bond pending trial.
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