Arkansas Man Sentenced To 50 Years in Federal Prison For Sexual Exploitation Of A Minor

FAYETTEVILLE – A Tontitown man was sentenced today to 600 months in prison without the possibility of parole on two counts of Sexual Exploitation of a Minor via Production of Child Pornography. The Honorable Judge Timothy L. Brooks presided over the sentencing hearing in the U.S. District Court in Fayetteville.

According to court documents, in July 2021 Agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigations received a lead regarding the exchange of child sexual abuse material between an individual in Florida with a user located in Tontitown, Arkansas. The investigation led the FBI to Joshua Paul Brown, 32.

A residential search warrant was obtained and executed at Brown’s residence. Subsequent forensic examination of the electronics taken from Brown’s residence revealed Brown had produced multiple videos of child sexual abuse material with a minor. 

Brown was indicted by a Grand Jury in the Western District of Arkansas in November 2021 and entered a plea of guilty in February 2022.

U.S. Attorney David Clay Fowlkes of the Western District of Arkansas made the announcement.

The FBI, Benton County Sheriff’s Office and Tontitown Police Department investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Carly Marshall prosecuted the case.

This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, 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 to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.