Massachusetts sex offender sentenced for possession of child pornography
BOSTON — A previously convicted sex offender was sentenced Monday for a second time of possessing child pornography. The sentencing is a result of a joint investigation led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), with the support of Arlington Police Department.
Derrick Jones, 45, of Arlington, was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 15 years in prison followed by 10 years of supervised release, and will be required to register as a sex offender upon release from prison. In January 2016, Jones pleaded guilty to receipt of child pornography and possession of child pornography.
Jones used file sharing computer programs to trade and receive images of child pornography and also downloaded and viewed images and videos of children ranging in age from infants to minors under the age of 18, being sexually exploited. Jones maintained a collection of 34,000 images and approximately 13,000 videos of child pornography. In 2005, Jones was convicted of two counts of possession of child pornography.
“Sadly, crimes of this nature are far more common than most would like to believe, but our special agents will never stop targeting these depraved individuals,” said Matt Etre, special agent in charge for HSI Boston. “We will continue to work with all of our law enforcement partners to aggressively target criminals who prey on the most vulnerable members of society.”
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 14,000 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 2015, nearly 2,400 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative and more than 1,000 victims identified or rescued.
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. From outside the U.S. and Canada, callers should dial 802-872-6199. Hearing impaired users can call TTY 802-872-6196.
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.
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