BALKO MAN SENTENCED TO 15 YEARS IN FEDERAL PRISON
FOR PRODUCING CHILD PORN INVOLVING SIX-YEAR-OLD GIRL

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma - John C. Richter, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma, announced today that JIMMY RAYMOND BYRUM, 56, of Balko, Oklahoma, was sentenced today by Chief United States District Judge Robin J. Cauthron to serve 180 months in federal prison for producing child pornography involving a six-year-old girl.

Byrum previously pled guilty and admitted that in June of 2007 he used a minor child to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing a visual image with a digital camera that depicted the lascivious display of the genitalia of a 6 year-old girl.

In addition to serving 180 months in prison, Judge Cauthron ordered Byrum to serve five years of supervised release following his release. Byrum will also be required to register as a sex offender.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

The case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with the assistance of the Beaver County Sheriff's Office and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Randy Sengel.