SPRINGFIELD, Ill. –  An initial trial date has been set for Aug. 6, 2019, before U.S. District Judge Sue E. Myerscough for Jason Fulmer, 33, of the 1200 block of Lake View Dr., Lincoln, Ill., who has been indicted on child sexual exploitation and child pornography charges. Fulmer was ordered detained in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending his release on conditions.  

A six-count indictment alleges that on three occasions, in January and February 2017, Fulmer persuaded a minor victim to engage in sexually explicit conduct and to send the images using a computer, and that Fulmer received images of child pornography on three occasions in 2016 and 2017.

If convicted, for each count (three counts) of sexual exploitation of a child, Fulmer faces a statutory penalty of a minimum 15 years to 30 years in prison. For receiving child pornography (three counts), the statutory penalty is five to 20 years in prison.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Victor Yanz. The charges are the result of an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations, with assistance from the Lincoln Police Department, the Logan County Sheriff’s Office, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Members of the public are reminded that an indictment is merely an accusation; the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

The 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 U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet as well as to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.