Estill County Man Sentenced to 135 Months for Receiving and Distributing Child Pornography
| U.S. Attorney’s Office December 13, 2011 |
LEXINGTON—The U.S. Attorney’s Office and the FBI jointly announced today that an Estill County man who previously admitted to trading child pornography with a minor was sentenced yesterday to 135 months in prison by U.S. District Court Judge Joseph M. Hood.
Robert Emmanuel Evans, 21, of Estill County, Ky. pleaded guilty to one count of distribution and one count of receipt of child pornography. Judge Hood enhanced Evans’ sentence because he distributed child pornography to a minor and ordered Evans to be under supervision for the rest of his life once he’s released from prison.
Evans, an Eagle Scout, admitted that between August of 2010 and February 2011, he distributed child pornography to a 13-year-old in Texas.
Evans, who was 19 at the time he started distributing child pornography, acknowledged that some of the child pornography images he sent and received were of children younger than 12 years old engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
Evans acknowledged he sent numerous images that included diaper changes of young children. The photos focused on the children’s genitalia. According to the plea agreement, Evans also sent the minor pictures of himself posing in diapers.
This investigation started when a lead from the FBI in Texas resulted in the execution of a federal search warrant at Evans’ residence in Irvine, Ky., on February 13, 2011. Evans was present during the search and admitted to having child pornography on his computer and to receiving and sending child pornography. A forensic examination of the computer revealed numerous videos and photographs of minors engaged in sexual explicit conduct.
Under federal law, Evans will have to serve 85 percent of his prison.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI’s Lexington Field Division, FBI San Antonio, and the Irvine Police Department.
This case was brought as part of a Project Safe Childhood, a Department of Justice initiative dedicated to protecting children from online exploitation and abuse.