Child Pornography Fugitive Arrested in Cottonwood

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. -- Wesley Elvis Peden, 47, of Oroville, California, was held in custody on August 10, 2006, and ordered removed to the Eastern District of California following his arrest in Cottonwood, Arizona, on August 7, 2006. Peden is charged in an Indictment from the Eastern District of California with the Receipt of Visual Depictions of Minors Engaged in Sexually Explicit Conduct and Possession of One or More Matters Containing Depictions of Minors Engaged in Sexually Explicit Conduct. Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation working with the Cottonwood Police Department located Peden living in Cottonwood but he had been working at a Boy Scout Camp in Payson, Arizona, since May, 2006. A conviction for Receipt of Visual Depictions of Minors Engaged in Sexually Explicit Conduct carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years, a maximum penalty of 20 years, a $250,000 fine or both. A conviction for Possession of One or More Matters Containing Depictions of Visual Depictions of Minors Engaged in Sexually Explicit Conduct carries a maximum penalty of 20 years, a $250,000 fine or both. In determining an actual sentence, a Federal Judge will consult the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide appropriate sentencing ranges. The judge, however, is not bound by those guidelines in determining a sentence. A criminal indictment is simply the method by which a person is charged with criminal activity and raises no inference of guilt. An individual is presumed innocent until competent evidence is presented to a jury that establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.