FROM THE OFFICE OF SHERIFF MIMS:
The case below is one our detectives worked on. While the DOJ’s policy is to not release mug shots of suspects or allow us to send out booking photos, I want to alert you that Briggs is publicly listed and pictured on the Megan’s Law website. Attached is a photo from there.
We believe it is important to allow the public to see his photo due to the fact that he lived at the Victoria Park Apartments on West Shields Ave. and people there may come forward with additional credible information based upon seeing him in the news.
| Department of Justice Office of the United States Attorney Eastern District of California U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott |
| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: LAUREN HORWOOD Thursday, February 20, 2020 PHONE: 916-554-2706 www.justice.gov/edca usacae.edcapress@usdoj.gov |
FRESNO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned a two-count indictment today against Gary Lee Briggs, 63, of Fresno, charging him with receipt and distribution of child pornography, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.
According to court documents, on Jan. 3, a concerned citizen reported to the police that Briggs appeared to be trying to lure an 8-year-old boy into Briggs’s apartment in Fresno. When officers confronted Briggs, he reported that he planned to test his ability to withstand urges that attracted him to the boy. Briggs also admitted that Facebook recently had terminated his account for having transmitted sexually explicit material. Facebook separately had notified the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children that Briggs’s Facebook account had been used to transmit sexually explicit images of minors from August through December 2019.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Central Valley Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, specifically the Fresno Police Department, the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office, and Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Gappa is prosecuting the case.
If convicted, Briggs faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This case was 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 United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. Click on the “resources” tab for information about internet safety education.
