MADERA -- A man convicted on child pornography charges in Tuolumne County nearly a decade ago faces similar charges in a new federal case.
According to the U.S. attorney's office, a federal grand jury Thursday returned a three-count indictment against Frank Charles Reddell, 38, of Madera. He is charged with sexual exploitation of a minor and receipt or distribution of material involving the sexual exploitation of a minor.
According to the indictment, on separate occasions in May and November 2012, Reddell, a registered sex offender on GPS monitoring, used separate minors to engage in sexually explicit conduct and child pornography. The indictment alleges that from Feb. 23, 2011, through Dec. 26, 2012, Reddell received or shared child pornography via the Internet.
According to court documents, on Dec. 26, a parole agent saw Reddell sitting in his car in a parking lot viewing images of child pornography. When agents searched Reddell's computer and computer thumb drive, they found several files containing child pornography. Data embedded in one photograph led to two houses in Madera where Reddell had worked as a handyman.
"This case is deeply disturbing in light of the defendant's ability to market himself as a 'handyman' and gain access to homes where children reside," Mike Prado, resident agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Fresno, said in a news release.
"Apprehending repeat sexual predators who continue to prey on local children in order to produce child pornography will always be a top priority for HSI."
If convicted, Reddell faces a possible sentence of 25 to 50 years in prison for each production count, and 15 to 40 years in prison for the receipt and distribution count.
Reddell has a prior conviction in Tuolumne County Superior Court in 2004, for lewd and lascivious conduct with a minor.
Investigators ask anyone with information on the case to contact HSI Special Agent Tim Kotman at (559) 487-6011.
RSS
E-Mail
Print
Order reprints
