Westminster man pleads guilty to child porn offenses

A Westminster man awaits sentencing for child pornography.  The U-S Attorney for South Carolina, Beth Drake, has announced that Vern McPherson pleaded guilty in federal court at Greenville to possession and transporting child pornography.  District Judge Bruce H. Hendricks of Charleston accepted the plea and will impose sentence after reviewing the presentence report which will be prepared by the U.S. Probation Office.  According to the U-S Attorney’s Office, evidence presented at a change of plea hearing established that law enforcement received an investigative lead from HSI Cyber Crimes Center that a server in Switzerland (which had been seized by the Swiss Federal Police) revealed McPherson’s IP address as having accessed child pornography from the server.  After reviewing material from the Swiss case, a federal search warrant was obtained for McPherson’s home.  A forensic exam of his computer revealed 693 images and 2 videos of child pornography.  Drake stated the maximum penalty McPherson can receive is a fine of $250,000 and/or imprisonment for no more than 20 years, plus a special assessment of $100. The case was investigated by agents of ICE-Homeland Security Investigations.