Ohio man sentenced for possession of child pornography

DAYTON, Ohio — An Ohio man was sentenced Thursday to 12 months and one day in prison for possession of child pornography. The sentence is the result of an investigation conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Daniel Furrow, 40, of Piqua, Ohio, was sentenced in U.S. District Court to a year and one day in prison for having approximately 130 visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct on his personal computer. He was also sentenced to serve 10 years under court supervision after he serves his prison time. Federal law will also require him to register as a sex offender.

U.S. Attorney Carter M. Stewart, Southern District of Ohio; Brian M. Moskowitz, special agent in charge for HSI Michigan and Ohio; and U.S. Postal Inspector Dugan Wong, U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) announced the sentence handed down by U.S. District Judge Timothy S. Black.

Furrow pleaded guilty in October 2011 to possession of sexual exploitation material of minors in interstate commerce. According to the court document, in June 2008 Furrow knowingly received and possessed approximately 130 visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct that had been shipped and transported in interstate and foreign commerce.

Furrow used computer equipment located at his residence to purchase via the Internet multiple subscriptions to commercial child pornography websites which offered members-only access to images of child pornography. Shortly after purchasing the subscriptions, Furrow would receive a password or code via email to access the websites, where he downloaded visual depictions of minors under the age of 18 engaged in sexually explicit conduct with other children under the age of 18, including prepubescent children. Most, if not all, of the images originated out of state or out of the country.

Furrow must have computer monitoring software installed on any computer device he uses during the term of his court supervision after his release from prison.

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-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 and Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, at 1-800-843-5678 or http://www.cybertipline.com.