Livermore man charged in child pornography case

By Erica Holt, Bay City News Service

August 1, 2006

LIVERMORE (BCN) - Further charges are expected against a 48-year-old Livermore man in jail on suspicion of sexual assault and secretly photographing young girls undressing in his home, Livermore police Lt. Scott Trudeau said today.

A federal employee of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Jimmy Dean Sanderson allegedly photographed girls without their knowledge as they changed in his Livermore home.

A multi-agency investigation also found that Sanderson may have photographed pictures of children and adults and superimposed their faces onto other people depicted in pornographic pictures.

"There are family members involved,'' Trudeau said, adding that the exact relationship is being withheld at this time. All of his victims were under the age of 10, he said, except for a 26-year-old developmentally disabled woman.

Trudeau said Sanderson is married with adult children.

As of Monday, Sanderson faces four felony counts for oral copulation, penetration with a foreign object and using a minor for posing that involved sexual contact. Prosecutors also allege he illegally duplicated obscene material, a misdemeanor.

"There will be additional charges forthcoming,'' Trudeau said. ""We're in the process of identifying other victims.''

Sanderson was arrested at his home on Humboldt Way on July 25 and made his first Alameda County Superior Court appearance Monday. His arraignment was continued until Wednesday at 9 a.m. when is he expected to be charged and to enter a plea, according to the district attorney's office.

He is being held at Santa Rita Jail on $500,000 bail, according to Livermore police Capt. Steve Sweeney, who is investigating the case.

Susan Houghton, spokeswoman for LLNL said Sanderson was a database computer technician who worked in an unclassified area since April 2002. We have "no reason for concern from an intelligence perspective,'' she said. He was immediately prohibited from entering the lab and his badge was removed, according to Houghton, who said he's on unpaid leave.

Houghton said that LLNL officials "fully support the efforts of the Livermore Police Department on this investigation.''

Concerned parents should call the Livermore Police Department at (925) 371-4700 for more information before discussing the matter with their children.

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