Springboro Woman Sentenced to 20 Months in Federal Prison for Possession of Child Pornography

DAYTON, OH—Kendra Lynn Sasser, 33, of Springboro, was sentenced in United States District Court here today to 20 months' imprisonment for possession of child pornography.

Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and Keith L. Bennett, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, announced the sentence handed down today by United States District Judge Thomas M. Rose.

Sasser pleaded guilty to one count of possession of child pornography on July 29, 2009. According to the statement of facts filed in court at the time of her plea, Sasser engaged in online communications in summer 2007 with a 16-year-old male from Arizona through an X-Box gaming system. The online conversations with the minor male became sexually explicit and the two began sending pictures of their nude body parts to one another. In addition, Sasser sent the minor male a gift card so he could buy a web camera and the minor used the web cam to stream sexually explicit video of himself to Sasser on at least one occasion.

After Sasser serves her prison term, she is required to serve five years on supervised release, a form of probation, and she must register as a sex offender.

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.

Stewart commended the investigation by FBI agents, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sheila Lafferty and Brent Tabacchi, who prosecuted the case.