Dyersburg Man Sentenced to 10 Years for Child Pornography Distribution

Memphis, TN – A Dyersburg man has been sentenced to a decade in federal prison for exchanging multiple sexually explicit pictures of minors online. Edward L. Stanton III, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee, announced the sentence today.

According to information presented in court, Jonathan Lee, 21, of Dyersburg, Tennessee, used email, Dropbox, video chat rooms, and mobile messaging apps to exchange thousands of pornographic images of female minors. He also used the aforementioned platforms to meet teenagers. Lee attempted to persuade the teens to send him images of themselves engaged in sexual activity.

In April 2016, Lee pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge John T. Fowlkes Jr. to one count of distribution of child pornography.

On Wednesday, August 31, Judge Fowlkes sentenced Lee to 10 years in federal prison.

This case was investigated by the Memphis Child Exploitation Task Force. The collective is comprised of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Homeland Security Investigations; Shelby County Sheriff's Department; Memphis Police Department; U.S. Postal Investigation Service; U.S. Marshals Service; and the U.S. Secret Service.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Debra Ireland prosecuted this case on the government’s behalf.

Anyone who believes they may have information about this case or related activities is asked to contact the Memphis Child Exploitation Task Force at 901.747.4300.

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 United States Attorneys' Offices and the

Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, PSC marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about PSC, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/. For more information about internet safety education, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/resources.html and click on the tab "resources."