Date: 09-08-2014

Case Style: United States of America v. Todd Alexander Pell

Case Number: 1:14-cr-00189-SCJ

Judge: Steve C. Jones

Court: United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia (Fulton County)

Plaintiff's Attorney: Jill E. Steinberg

Defendant's Attorney: Jeffrey Lyn Ertel - FPD

Description: ATLANTA, GA – Todd Alexander Pell has been sentenced to 29 years in federal prison for producing pornographic images of young boys.

“The repeated acts of sexual abuse committed by Pell are appalling” said United States Attorney Yates. “We applaud the victim who had the courage to come forward and expose this abuse; he likely saved other young boys from the same fate.”

J. Britt Johnson, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office, stated: “Today’s lengthy prison sentence of Pell removes a dangerous child predator from our community and prevents him from harming others in this manner. In working with our various law enforcement partners in keeping America’s youth safe, the FBI will continue to provide significant assets and resources toward the investigation of violent crimes against children.”

According to United States Attorney Yates, the criminal indictment, and information presented in court: In June 2013, a fourteen (14) year old male reported to Duluth Police that he had been sexually assaulted by Pell from December 2012 through February 2013 at Pell’s residence on Bromley Rowe in Duluth, Ga. Pell initially paid the victim to do yard work, but later propositioned the victim to engage in sex acts with Pell. In late 2012, Pell began taking sexually explicit photos of the victim and sexually abusing him. After each assault by Pell, Pell gave the victim money and took the victim out to eat. Pell also brought two older teens into his home to sexually assault the victim. Pell took photographs of these older males engaged in sex acts with the victim. During the course of the investigation, law enforcement also discovered two additional minor victims who were sexually abused by Pell. During the execution of a search warrant at Pell’s home, law enforcement recovered the camera Pell used to capture the sexual assaults and computers on which child pornography was found.

Pell, 44, of Duluth, Ga., was sentenced by United States District Judge Steve C. Jones to 29 years in prison to be followed by lifetime supervised release. He was also ordered to pay a $100 special assessment. The defendant will be required to register as a sex offender when he is released from prison. As part of his plea agreement with federal and state authorities, Pell will also enter a guilty plea to six counts of aggravated sodomy in Gwinnett County Superior Court.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Duluth Police Department and the Gwinnett County District Attorney’s Office.

This case is being brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children and to identify and rescue victims.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the HomePage for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is www.justice.gov/usao/gan.

Outcome: See above

Plaintiff's Experts:

Defendant's Experts:

Comments: