Central Coast Man Sentenced to 15 Years in Federal Prison for Receiving and Sending Child Pornography, Some Involving Toddlers

          LOS ANGELES – A San Luis Obispo County man was sentenced today to 15 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to two child pornography offenses and admitting that some of images in his collection depicted the sexual abuse of very young victims.

          James Davolt, 53, of Templeton, was sentenced after pleading guilty on June 4 to receipt of child pornography and distribution of child pornography.

          United States District Judge Virginia A. Phillips imposed the 180-month sentence and further ordered that, once he completes his sentence, Davolt be under supervised release for the rest of his life.

          When he pleaded guilty, Davolt admitted that he used email to receive and share child pornography. When special agents with the FBI examined his computers and email accounts, they uncovered approximately 738 images and 204 videos depicting child pornography, including videos involving the sexual abuse of toddlers and infants.

          In seeking a 15-year sentence, prosecutors argued that some of images depicted children under the age of 2 being used for sexual acts, and other images portrayed sadistic or masochistic sexual conduct involving children.

          In addition to the images and videos, FBI agents discover chat messages, some dating back to 2009, in which Davolt chatted with women in the Philippines and not only “explicitly requested child pornography videos, but also directed the sexual exploitation of children via webcam,” according to a sentencing memorandum filed by prosecutors. “Even more troubling, [Davolt] bragged about how he previously had sex with children while visiting the Philippines (which defendant, in fact, traveled to on 12-13 occasions) and made plans to have sex with children in an upcoming visit.”

          In a victim impact statement submitted to the court and excerpted in the sentencing memorandum, the mother of one victim said her daughter suffered from “prolonged major trauma” that will affect “her mind for the rest of her life.”

          The FBI conducted the investigation in this case.

          Assistant United States Attorney Amy E. Pomerantz of the Violent and Organized Crime Section prosecuted the case.