Michael J. Noble, Jr. Sentenced for Possessing Child Pornography

GREENEVILLE, TN—On November 28, 2012, Michael J. Noble, Jr., 31, of Kingsport, Tennessee, was sentenced to serve a statutory maximum of 120 months in prison by the Honorable J. Ronnie Greer, U.S. District Judge. Upon his release from prison, Noble will be subject to supervised release under the supervision of the U.S. Probation Office for 20 years.

Following a two and one-half day trial in May 2012, a jury convicted Noble of possession of child pornography.

The investigation of Noble began when his spouse discovered pornographic images of young children on his computer and a video tape made by him of young female children at local swimming pools, shopping centers, and other publicly viewed areas. Thereafter, the Kingsport Police Department seized a computer and external hard drives from Noble’s apartment. A forensic examination of the seized computer and hard drives revealed over 2,300 images containing child pornography and videos containing child pornography.

Law enforcement agencies participating in the joint investigation which led to indictment and subsequent conviction of Noble included the Kingsport Police Department, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s Technical Services Unit, and Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Gregory Bowman represented the United States at trial.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “Resources.”