Waynesboro Man Sentenced to 20 Years for Receiving Child Pornography

AUGUSTA, GA—Edward J. Tarver, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia, announced that Roger Alan Gambrel, convicted on June 5, 2009, of the federal offense of receipt of child pornography, was sentenced today by United States District Judge J. Randal Hall, to 240 months imprisonment, followed by supervised release for the remainder of his life. Gambrel will also be required to register as a sex offender upon his release from federal prison.

Tarver stated that the evidence presented at the defendant’s guilty plea and sentencing hearings showed that Gambrel routinely engaged in sexually suggestive online “chats” with others about the child pornography images being traded during those communications. When his computer and other computer media were seized from Gambrel, he was found in possession of over 2,000 child pornography images.

The case was the result of a joint investigation by Special Agent Brian Ozden of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Agent Charles Kicklighter of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, based upon information they received from FBI agents in California. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nancy Greenwood represented the government.

Tarver commented that this case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, which is a nationwide U.S. Department of Justice initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States 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.