Calhoun County Man Indicted for Sexual Exploitation

Additional Potential Victims or Witnesses Are Encouraged to Come Forward

GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN - U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Timothy VerHey today announced that Gerald Lee Preston, 69, of Homer, Michigan, was indicted on criminal charges related to alleged sexual exploitation of minors.

According to court documents, Preston is charged with two counts of sexual exploitation of children, specifically that, in 2011, he used, persuaded, induced and enticed two separate minor victims to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing a visual depiction of that conduct. If convicted, Preston faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years in prison. The statutory maximum sentence a court can impose for each count of sexual exploitation is 30 years in prison.

U.S. Attorney VerHey said, "Every one of the prosecutors in my office is dedicated to getting justice for the children who are being sexually exploited. Simply put--we won't stop until it stops. I applaud the work that the HSI agents have done on this case and we look forward to seeing this case through to a successful conclusion."

Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) is leading the ongoing investigation of Gerald Preston. HSI requests and encourages anyone that has relevant information about or may be a victim of Preston's alleged crimes to call the HSI Tipline at (866) DHS-2-ICE, that is (866) 347-2423, or email investigators and victim assistance personnel at [email protected]. The Grand Rapids office of HSI is investigating this case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Constance Turnbull is prosecuting it.

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 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 Justice.gov/PSC.

The charges in an indictment are merely accusations, and a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.