Mississippi man sentenced to 30 years on child pornography charges

TAMPA, Fla. — A Mississippi man was sentenced in Gulfport, Mississippi, to 360 months in federal prison and a lifetime of supervised release for one count of transportation and six counts of possession of child pornography Nov. 4. This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Sarasota, Florida, and Mississippi.

James Allen Myers, 67, of Carriere, Mississippi, lived in North Port, Florida, until 2013 when he moved to Carriere. After receiving a tip, HSI special agents found Myers to be in possession of numerous computer hard drives, CDs and other computer devices which contained over 20,000 images and videos of children engaging in sexually explicit conduct with adults. HSI agents examined the images and videos found on the electronic devices seized from Myers and were able to identify and locate three victims living in Florida who were depicted in Myers' child pornography collection. Myers was found guilty following a three-day trial in August in Gulfport.

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 12,000 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 2014, 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.