Cumming Man Sentenced to Prison for Distributing Child Pornography

Gainesville -- Joseph Gittings, 26, of Cumming was sentenced to 11 years in prison today for distributing child pornography. Gittings was arrested in November 2009 as part of the international take down of the “Boy Lover Network” (BLN) web forum.

Senior District Court Judge William C. O’Kelley sentenced Gittings to 11 years in custody, to be followed by a lifetime of supervised release. Gittings will be required to register as a sex offender upon his release from federal prison.

“While everyone is free to express their views, when their thoughts become actions and they collect and share child pornography, they step across the line separating free speech from crime," said U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates. "This defendant clearly crossed that line and for that he is being justly punished."     

In a news release by the U.S. Attorney's office, in March 2009, the Australian Federal Police arrested a long-time member of the BLN, an on-line forum dedicated to the discussion and promulgation of man-boy love. This individual identified Gittings, who was known online with the screen name of “Joe Cool,” as being a senior member and administrator of BLN. 

According to the Australian defendant, Gittings lived in the United States but worked closely with Amir Hurwitz, the Netherlands-based leader of BLN, with Gittings providing technical support and participating in the senior leadership of the forum.

Having received this lead from Australian law enforcement, Special Agents with the U.S. Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) confirmed that “Joe Cool” was, in fact, a senior administrator/member. Additional investigation linked the moniker “Joe Cool” to Gittings and placed him at a residence in Cumming.

The ICE agents were eventually able to develop a United States-based cooperating source (who was also a BLN member) who knew Gittings personally. This source provided information concerning Gittings' collection of child pornography and his willingness to distribute these illegal images to others. In October 2009, Gittings provided the cooperating source with two DVD’s filled with images and videos of child pornography.

As part of the international take down of BLN and its senior membership, ICE arrested Gittings in November 2009 on charges of distributing child pornography. He was subsequently indicted by a federal grand jury in March 2010. Several other BLN members in the Atlanta area have been prosecuted federally for their sexual exploitation of boys.

“Each child seen in these pornographic videos is an innocent victim of those who produce, possess, transport and share child pornography," said Brock Nicholson, Special Agent in Charge of ICE-HSI in Atlanta. "Unfortunately, these images are being viewed over and over again, perpetuating the abuse of these children. ICE will continue to diligently work with our law enforcement partners to identify child predators and bring them to justice.”