In a separate criminal suit, the United States government presented an indictment to a federal grand jury, which signed and returned the true bill, indicting Caleb Elliott on eight counts of sexual exploitation of children a/k/a production of child pornography or the attempt thereof, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 2251(a) and (e).
In federal criminal practice, a grand jury is 16–23 people, summoned by the court. Fed. R. Crim. P. 6. Grand jury proceedings are secret, and one-sided, where the prosecutor convinces the grand jury to indict the defendant, without the defendant or his attorney present. Id. A criminal defendant is entitled to notice of charges against him, this generally occurs by indictment or information. For a misdemeanor, an information is all that is necessary. Fed. R. Crim. P. 7(a)(2); 58(b)(1). An information is “an accusation…without an indictment…made by a public prosecutor, without the intervention of a grand jury.” U.S. Dep’t of Just., Crim. Res. Manual § 1-499.201 (quoting Information, Black’s Law Dictionary (6th ed. 1990)). A felony, however, must be prosecuted on indictment. Fed. R. Crim. P. 7(a)(1) ; U.S. Const. amend. V. An indictment is “an accusation in writing…originating with a prosecutor and issued by a grand jury…An indictment is referred to as a ‘true bill,’ whereas failure to indict is called a ‘no bill.’” U.S. Dep’t of Just., Crim. Res. Manual § 1-499.201 (quoting Indictment, Black’s Law Dictionary (6th ed. 1990)).