U.S. Department
of Justice
Press Release
Henry County Man Pleads Guilty to Possession and Receipt of Child Pornography
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of Tennessee
Jackson, TN – A Henry County man has pleaded guilty to possession and receipt of child pornography. D. Michael Dunavant, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee announced the guilty plea today.
In February 2017, law enforcement officers in Henry County, Tennessee, received a lead out of Belvidere, Illinois, regarding Russell Jann, 44, of Cottage Grove, Tennessee. Based on that lead and the ensuing investigation, agents learned that Jann had been engaging in sexually explicit online chats and conversations via text messages with at least four minor victims ranging in age from 15 to 17 years old.
Jann exchanged messages with the victims containing pictures of his genitalia and videos of himself masturbating and received similar sexually explicit images and/or videos of at least 3 of the 4 minor victims. Agents also recovered a laptop computer and external hard drive from Jann’s home that contained thousands of images and videos of child pornography depicting children as young as infants. Jann is facing a mandatory minimum five years’ imprisonment.
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 Attorney’s 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 www.justice.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.justice.gov/psc/resources.html and click on the tab "resources."
This case was investigated by the FBI; Belvidere (Illinois) Police Department; and Henry County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kasey Weiland is prosecuting the case on the government’s behalf.
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Updated November 17, 2017
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