 |
| Brian Pruitt |
Murphy, NC— Brian James Pruitt, a 42-year-old Andrews North Carolina man was returned to Cherokee County after fleeing to Florida while out on bond. Pruitt was arrested in January 2010 when a joint investigation by the Andrews Police Department and the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office revealed that Pruitt had downloaded and possessed several images of child pornography.
The Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office, in its continuing effort to combat child exploitation, partnered with the United States Marshal’s Service who provided invaluable assistance in locating Pruitt in Florida. Once arrested by Florida law enforcement Pruitt waived his extradition hearing and was transported by to Cherokee County to face his original charges of Third Degree Sexual Exploitation of a Minor.
The Cherokee County Sheriff's Office is a member of the North Carolina Internet Crimes Against Children (NCICAC) Task Force. The ICAC Task Force is comprised of federal, state, and local enforcement agents. The purpose of the ICAC task force is to investigate complaints of child exploitation. For more information on the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office visit http://www.cherokeecounty-nc.gov/departments/ccso/, or follow on www.blogspot.com/ccsonc.
This 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.
Pruitt is currently in the Cherokee County Detention Facility under a $25,000.00 bond.
No comments:
Post a Comment