Tucker Indicted on Six Counts of Producing Child Pornography

John Ridgely Tucker of Pahoa was indicted today in Honolulu on six counts of producing child pornography.

According to US Attorney Florence Nakakuni, the indictment by a federal grand jury charges Tucker with using and enticing two minor children to produce the pornography in 2008.

Nakakuni said the indictment was based on three images of child pornography received from the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children which depicted two minor children engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

Meanwhile, FBI agents in Phoenix, Ariz. working on a different case discovered the same images as well as an image of the two minors with an adult male. The picture of the man was forwarded to the FBI’s Honolulu office which put out a press release on Oct. 10 asking for the public’s help in identifying the suspect.

Within hours, the FBI received information that the person in the picture was Tucker.

Following the execution that day of a search warrant at his home, a bed and breakfast operation in the Leilani Estates subdivision, Tucker was arrested at the Hilo police station.

If convicted, Tucker faces a minimum penalty of 15 years in prison and a maximum sentence of 30 years on each count, Nanakuni said. He also faces the possibility of a lifetime of supervised release.

Tucker, 56, is being held in Honolulu without bail.