Office of the Attorney General
Louisville Man Pleads Guilty to Sending Child Pornography to Attorney General's Office

Attorney General Jack Conway today announced the guilty plea in federal court of a Louisville man who sent child pornography to the Attorney General's office. Andrew Edwards was charged with sending an email message from United Kentucky Liberation Front to the Kentucky Attorney General's Office, consumer protection division on August 6, 2010. The email included 12 attached image files. The same message was addressed to 32 separate email addresses including the political action committees of various political figures and media outlets. Edward's plea is the result of an investigation by General Conway's Department of Criminal Investigations (DCI).

According to an affidavit in support of a Kentucky state search warrant by a DCI investigator, seven of the attached images included matter portraying children. Five of the images depicted adult pornography. The email contained the subject line, "Kentucky Freedom?" and the content was considered political rhetoric focusing on the "sovereignty of the Commonwealth of Kentucky."

Edwards admitted to the investigators that he had searched the Internet for the images attached to the August 6, 2010 email and that he knew some of the images were illegal. He also told them that he had attached the "shocking" images in order for the message to get noticed.

Edwards faces a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison, a $25,000 fine, and supervised release of a period of three years. His sentencing is scheduled for February 27, 2012, at 2:30pm before United States District Judge Charles R. Simpson,III in Louisville.

Prosecution of this case is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Jo E. Lawless.