A Barrow County man was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for distributing child pornography, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Following his prison time, Jonathan Lee Whitmire, 36, of Auburn, will spend 20 years on supervised released and must register as a sex offender, U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said in an emailed statement.
“This defendant amassed a large collection of photos and videos depicting the sexual assault of very young children,” Yates said. “We will continue to pursue significant sentences for those who trade in the victimization of the most innocent and vulnerable among us.”
In September 2013, Homeland Security executed a search warrant in Cheyenne, Wyo., at the home of an individual using an international website to exchange child pornography, according to Yates and information presented in court. Investigators found that the Wyoming subject was also trading child pornography with numerous individuals through email.
Based on a search of the Wyoming subject’s email accounts, investigators identified Whitmire as an individual who traded child pornography with the Wyoming subject, Yates said. Subsequent searches of Whitmire’s email accounts showed he traded sexually explicit images of young children with a substantial number of other individuals using various email accounts.
In January 2014, a search warrant executed at Whitmire’s home led investigators to a large collection of images and videos of young children being sexually assaulted, prosecutors said. The investigation also revealed that Whitmire molested at least two young girls.
Whitmire was convicted of two counts of child molestation and aggravated sexual battery. As part of his sentencing, Whitmire was also ordered to pay a $3,000.00 fine and a $100 special assessment.
About the Author
