SAN FRANCISCO – Duane Charles Ackerman was sentenced today to fifteen years in prison for production and possession of child pornography, announced United States Attorney Brian J. Stretch and U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent in Charge Ryan L. Spradlin.
Ackerman, 51, of San Francisco, pleaded guilty on September 27, 2016, to one count of production of pornography depicting minors in sexually explicit conduct, and one count of possessing child pornography. According to his guilty plea, between June and August of 2015, Ackerman produced six video files of prepubescent girls who were each less than 12 years old. The children were temporarily entrusted to his care at his home when he surreptitiously recorded their genitals using a hidden camera. In addition, Ackerman admitted that in October of 2015, he possessed a computer hard drive that contained no fewer than 15,000 digital images and 800 video files depicting child pornography. A federal grand jury issued a superseding indictment on February 25, 2016, charging Ackerman with six counts of production of child pornography, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2251(a); one count of distribution of child pornography, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252(a)(2); and one count of possession of child pornography, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252(a)(4)(B). According to his plea agreement, Ackerman pleaded guilty to one count of production and one count of possessing child pornography.
The sentence was handed down by the Honorable Vince Chhabria, U.S. District Judge. In addition to the prison term, Judge Chhabria also ordered Ackerman to serve a ten-year period of supervised release. Additional proceedings have been scheduled to decide the issue of restitution.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian R. Faerstein and Laurie Kloster Gray prosecuted the case with the assistance of Patricia Mahoney. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by HSI.
Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, via its toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-843-5678.