Man Pleads Guilty To Sharing Child Pornography

A Carmichael man pleaded guilty today to sharing child pornography, U.S. Atty. Benjamin Wagner announced.

Dustin Cassady, 31, pleaded guilty to one count of sharing child pornography via a peer-to-peer file sharing network over the Internet, Wagner said in a news release.

Cassady was identified as a former Mormon youth pastor by News 10.

The case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Asst. U.S. Atty. Matthew Morris is prosecuting the case.

According to court documents, on Nov. 20, 2010, an undercover agent was able to download child pornography from a computer that was later traced to Cassady. During a search of his residence, Cassady admitted that he had numerous images and videos of child pornography, according to the news release.

Cassady is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge John Mendez on Aug. 28 at 9:30 a.m. The offense carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison, according to the release.

The actual sentence, however, will 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.