Shelbyville Resident Sentenced to 50 Years For Sexual Exploitation Of A Child And Possession Of Child Pornography

Chattanooga, Tenn. – On January 15, 2020, Brad Anthony Majors, 37, of Shelbyville, was sentenced by the Honorable Curtis L. Collier in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee at Chattanooga.                          

In May 2019, Majors agreed to plead guilty to an indictment, charging him with one count of exploitation of a child in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2251(a); and one count of possession of child pornography in violation of 18 U.S.C. 2252A(a)(5)(B) and 2252A(b)(2).  On January 15, 2020, Majors was sentenced to 600 months in prison, followed by 15 years’ supervised release.  Majors will be required to register with state sex offender registries and comply with special sex offender conditions during his supervised release.

In November 2018, after receiving a report of abuse from the mother of Majors’ 8-year-old biological child, authorities investigated and determined that Majors was sexually abusing his child.  During questioning, Majors admitted to recording sexually explicit acts between himself and the child, and that he had taken approximately 40 sexually explicit videos and images of such conduct.  A search of Majors phone revealed four sexually explicit videos of Majors and the child, including numerous saved images of child pornography depicting known and unknown victims throughout the world that Majors obtained from online sources.  Majors also admitted to trading at least one of these images online with an unknown person in exchange for images of child pornography.  

“It is evident that offenders are finding new and increasingly disturbing ways to victimize and exploit vulnerable child victims.  Cases such as this, however, demonstrate the Department of Justice’s dedication to protecting these vulnerable children and punishing those that seek to cause them harm.  No matter who the offenders are, they will be met with significant consequences.  With the combined effort of the Project Safe Childhood Initiative and our federal, state, and local law enforcement partnerships, we will find these criminals and hold them accountable for their crimes against children,” said U. S. Attorney J. Douglas Overbey.

 "The sexual exploitation of children is an especially heinous crime.  Unfortunately, victimization of children is a growing issue in our country and one the FBI will not tolerate.  The dedicated teamwork between our agents and the Shelbyville Police Department ensured there is one less predator on the street victimizing the most innocent and venerable members of our community,” said Joseph E. Carrico, Special Agent in Charge of the Knoxville Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The criminal indictment resulted from an investigation led by the U. S. Attorney’s Offices, the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, the U. S. Marshal’s Office, Shelbyville Police Department and Special Agent Matthew Acker with Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

Assistant United States Attorney James T. Brooks represented the United States.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), 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 U. S. Attorney’s Offices, the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, PSC marshal’s federal, state, and local agencies. All resources will locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about PSC, visit www.justice.gov/psc. Information about internet safety education, please visit www.justice.gov/psc/resources.html and click on the tab "resources.”

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