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Mar 20, 2024

Eastern District of California

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — David J. Zappa, 71, of Sebastopol, was sentenced Tuesday to six years in prison to be followed by 10 years of supervised release for receipt of child pornography, U.S. Attorney

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — David J. Zappa, 71, of Sebastopol, was sentenced Tuesday to six years in prison to be followed by 10 years of supervised release for receipt of child pornography, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court documents, on Feb. 5, 2015, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Zappa’s home and found that Zappa used peer-to-peer software to receive and share files over the BitTorrent network, and his computer was in the process of downloading four torrent files that contained child pornography. Overall, agents found thousands of images and approximately 200 videos of child pornography.

This case was the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Roger Yang prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. Click on the “resources” tab for information about internet-safety education.