Arkansas man sentenced for downloading 2,000 child pornography images

FORT SMITH, Ark. — An Arkansas man was sentenced Wednesday to more than nine years in federal prison for downloading child pornography following an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Arkansas Internet Crimes Against Children Taskforce, the Baxter County Sheriff's Office and the Mountain Home Police Department.

According to court documents, Troy Rowlette, 46, of Lake View, possessed more than 2,000 still images and 190 videos containing child pornography on a laptop and various storage media when investigators executed a search warrant of his residence in March 2012. Some of the images included children as young as 3 years of age.

"Child pornographers cause irreparable harm to defenseless children," said Raymond R. Parmer Jr., special agent in charge of HSI New Orleans. "HSI is committed to identifying, investigating and seeking prosecution of these sexual predators, who rob children of their innocence, as one of the agency's highest law enforcement priorities." Parmer oversees a five-state area of operations covering Arkansas, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee.

Rowlette pleaded guilty to receipt of child pornography Nov. 19 in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas. Following his prison term, Rowlette will have to serve five years supervised release.

This investigation was part of Operation Predator, a nationwide HSI initiative to protect children from sexual predators, including those who travel overseas for sex with minors, Internet child pornographers, criminal alien sex offenders and child sex traffickers. HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-347-2423 or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators.

Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, via its toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-843-5678.

HSI is a founding member and current chair of the Virtual Global Taskforce, an international alliance of law enforcement agencies and private industry sector partners working together to prevent and deter online child sexual abuse.