Georgia man sentenced to 20 years for distributing child pornography
GAINESVILLE, Ga. — A Georgia man was sentenced Thursday to the statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for distributing child pornography following an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), with assistance from the Barrow County Sheriff's Office and the Barrow County District Attorney's Office.
Jonathan Lee Whitmire, 36, of Auburn, was sentenced by United States District Judge William C. O'Kelley to 20 years in prison to be followed by 20 years of supervised release. Whitmire was also ordered to pay a $3,000.00 fine and a $100 special assessment. The defendant will be required to register as a sex offender when he is released from prison.
"This defendant amassed a large collection of photos and videos depicting the sexual assault of very young children," said United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates. "We will continue to pursue significant sentences for those who trade in the victimization of the most innocent and vulnerable among us."
"As long as there are predators in our society who traffic in the rape of children for their perverse desires, there will be HSI special agents a few steps behind them working tirelessly to seek justice for the victims of this pernicious crime," said HSI Atlanta Special Agent in Charge Brock D. Nicholson. "We will follow every lead, we will pull every thread, and we simply will not stop until every depraved degenerate who distributes this filth understands we will be knocking at their door the minute they hit 'send.'"
According to the criminal indictment and information presented in court: In September 2013, HSI executed a search warrant in Cheyenne, Wyoming, at the home of an individual using an international website to exchange child pornography. Investigators found that the Wyoming subject was also trading child pornography with numerous individuals using email. Based on a search of the Wyoming subject's email accounts, HSI identified Whitmire as an individual who traded child pornography with the Wyoming subject. Subsequent searches of Whitmire's email accounts showed Whitmire traded sexually explicit images of young children with a substantial number of other individuals using various email accounts.
In January 2014, a search warrant was executed at Whitmire's home in Auburn. A forensic examination of electronic media found in Whitmire's home showed that he had a large collection of images and videos of young children being sexually assaulted. The investigation also revealed that Whitmire molested at least two young girls.
Whitmire is charged with two counts of child molestation and two counts of aggravated sexual battery in Barrow County.
This investigation was conducted under HSI's Operation Predator, an international initiative to protect children from sexual predators. Since the launch of Operation Predator in 2003, HSI has arrested more than 10,000 individuals for crimes against children, including the production and distribution of online child pornography, traveling overseas for sex with minors, and sex trafficking of children. In fiscal year 2013, more than 2,000 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative.
HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE 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-THE-LOST.
For additional information about wanted suspected child predators, download HSI's Operation Predator smartphone app or visit the online suspect alerts page.
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.
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