Man sentenced for trading child sex photos, videos

By George Mathis

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A former Wal-Mart manager was sentenced in federal court Friday for collecting and trading images and videos of child sex abuse, said prosecutors.

Steven Lynn Hines, 54, of White, Ga., will serve 7 years, 4 months, for downloading and trading the images on a computer in his home, according to a press release from the office of U.S. Attorney Sally Yates.

After obtaining a search warrant, the GBI seized hundreds of thousands of images of child sex abuse Hines collected over the years, prosecutors said. Many of images had been printed out and organized in binders; others were stored on hard drives and disks. Agents also recovered evidence showing that Hines actively traded the images so that he could expand his collection and help others grow theirs. He was arrested in December 2009 at a Wal-Mart in Dawson County where he worked as an assistant manager.

Yates said, “Defendants who trade child pornography are fostering a market based upon the rape and molestation of our children. Mr. Hines not only collected child porn but also contributed his images of child sex abuse so that others could grow their own collections. The emotional and physical damage to the child victims of this behavior is staggering.”

Hines was indicted in February 2010; he pleaded guilty in June 2010. U.S. District Court Judge Harold L. Murphy sentenced Hines, who will be on 10 years supervised release after serving his prison time. He will be required to register as a sex offender upon his release.