The sentencing of former South Lake Tahoe teacher Karsten Gronwold on federal child pornography charges has been delayed until Dec. 3, according to a spokeswoman for the U.S. District Attorney's Office in Sacramento.
In August, Gronwold pleaded guilty to possessing images of young boys engaged in sexual conduct, and a sentence was expected to be handed down Oct. 29.
A reason for the delay was not immediately available, according to Mary Wenger, spokeswoman for the attorney's office.
Gronwold and the prosecution have agreed to a sentence of just more than eight years, although the actual length is at the discretion of the court.
At the conclusion of the federal case, Gronwold will face one count of lewd and lascivious conduct with a minor under the age of 14 that is being brought by the El Dorado County District Attorney's Office.
A
former South Lake Tahoe elementary school teacher booked for child pornography
may face additional charges.
Karsten Gronwold was arrested last September for possession and distribution of
child pornography; those charges are being handled by a federal court since the
suspected distribution was across state lines. Investigators now say they have
enough evidence to charge Gronwold with two counts of sexual molestation, but
those charges have not yet been filed.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Patty Pontello, 916-554-2706
September 14, 2006
http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/cae
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE SCHOOL TEACHER INDICTED FOR PRODUCING,
DISTRIBUTING, AND POSSESSING CHILD PORNOGRAPHY
SACRAMENTO-- United States Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced today that a federal grand jury returned a ten-count indictment today charging KARSTEN GRONWOLD, 49,
of South Lake Tahoe, with producing, distributing, and possessing depictions of minors engaged
in sexually explicit conduct. He is scheduled to be arraigned at 2:00 P.M. today before
Magistrate Judge Gregory G. Hollows.
This case is the product of a joint investigation by the Sacramento Valley Hi-Tech Crimes
Task Force and the El Dorado County Sheriff's Department. It resulted from complaints made to
the National Center of Missing & Exploited Children's CyberTipline (www.cybertipline.com or 1800-843-5678). The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children is a
congressionally mandated national clearinghouse that gathers information about missing and sexually exploited
children for law enforcement use.
According to Assistant United States Attorney Camil A. Skipper, who is prosecuting the
case, the indictment alleges that GRONWOLD, a second grade teacher in South Lake Tahoe,
produced an image he entitled "playingwithme.jpg," depicting a minor engaged in sexually explicit
conduct. The indictment further alleges that he distributed that image and others in 2005. The
indictment also alleges that GRONWOLD possessed child pornography images on September 1,
2006, the date of his arrest.
If convicted, the maximum penalty under federal law for producing a visual depiction of a
minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct is 20 years in prison, with a mandatory minimum term
of imprisonment of 10 years. (These minimum and maximum penalties assume that the image was
produced in 2001 before the United States Congress increased statutory penalties for this
offense.) The maximum penalty for distributing child pornography is 20 years in prison, with a
mandatory minimum term of 5 years. The maximum penalty for possessing such images is 10
years in prison. In total, the maximum penalty GRONWOLD faces if convicted of all charges in
the indictment is 190 years in prison. However, the actual sentence imposed by the court will
take into account the Federal Sentencing Guidelines and a number of other factors. The
indictment also contains a forfeiture allegation that could result in GRONWOLD's forfeiture of
certain computer equipment.
The charges are only allegations and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless
proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
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