Philadelphia-area man indicted on child pornography charges

PHILADELPHIA — A Pennsylvania man was charged Thursday with attempting to receive DVD movies depicting child pornography. The indictment is the result of an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

Thomas Silber, 50, of Yardley, was charged with 10 counts of knowingly receiving, and attempting to receive child pornography.

According to court records, between February 2007 and October 2010, Silber received 10 DVDs, which depicted minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct.

If convicted the Silber faces up to 200 years in prison, a lifetime of supervised release, and a $1,000 special assessment.

The defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.

The investigation is part of HSI's Operation Predator, an international initiative to protect children from sexual predators. Since the launch of Operation Predator in 2003, HSI has arrested more than 10,000 individuals for crimes against children, including the production and distribution of online child pornography, traveling overseas for sex with minors, and sex trafficking of children. In fiscal year 2013, more than 2,000 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative.

HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators. Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, via its toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-THE-LOST.

For additional information about wanted suspected child predators, download HSI's Operation Predator smartphone app or visit the online suspect alerts page.

HSI is a founding member and current chair of the Virtual Global Taskforce, an international alliance of law enforcement agencies and private industry sector partners working together to prevent and deter online child sexual abuse.