Dayton Man Sentenced to 24 Months for Possession of Child Pornography

DAYTON—Clifton B. Cole, age 43, of Dayton, was sentenced in United States District Court here to 24 months imprisonment and a lifetime of supervised release for possessing child pornography. 

Gregory G. Lockhart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and Keith L. Bennett, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation Cincinnati Field Division (FBI) announced the sentence imposed today by United States District Judge Walter H. Rice.

FBI agents interviewed Cole in April, 2007 after he visited an undercover Website that Cole believed to contain child pornography. Cole agreed to a search of his computer by the agents. Analysis of his desktop computer by the Miami Valley Regional Computer Forensics Laboratory located numerous photographic images and 88 videos depicting child pornography on his computer.

Cole pleaded guilty on January 16, 2008 to one count of possession of child pornography.

Judge Rice also ordered Cole to participate in a Sex Offender Treatment Program while in prison.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov/.

Lockhart commended the investigation by FBI agents in Ohio and California, as well as Assistant U.S. Attorney Sheila Lafferty, who prosecuted the case.