George Stephen Russell Sentenced to 97 Months in Prison for Possession of Child Pornography

KNOXVILLE, TN—George Stephen Russell, 65, of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, was sentenced on April 9, 2012 to serve 97 months in prison by the Honorable Thomas A. Varlan, U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Tennessee. Russell pleaded guilty on October 17, 2011 to knowingly possessing child pornography that had been transported in interstate and foreign commerce by any means, including by computer.

Upon his release from prison, Russell will serve a life term of supervised release following his release from prison as well as be required to participate in a program of sex offender mental health treatment. Additionally, as a result of his conviction, the federal Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act requires Russell to register with the state sex offender registry anywhere he resides, is employed, or is a student following his incarceration.

Russell’s possession of an extensive collection of child pornography, which he made accessible via the Internet to others who wished to trade child pornography with him, was discovered through an online undercover investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The FBI executed a federal search warrant at Russell’s residence in Oak Ridge and seized his computers. Forensic examination of the seized computers revealed that he had possessed 3,841 images and 33 videos of suspected child pornography. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children identified 48 known victims of child pornography among the images and videos that Russell had possessed.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a Department initiative launched in 2006 that aims to combat the proliferation of technology-facilitated sexual exploitation crimes against children. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Department of Justice Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, PSC marshals federal, state, tribal, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information visit ProjectSafeChildhood.gov.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew T. Morris represented the United States at sentencing.