Memphis Man Sentenced for Distributing Child Pornography

Memphis, TN – A Memphis man has been sentenced to federal prison for distributing multiple images and videos of child pornography. Edward L. Stanton III, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee, announced the sentence today.

According to information presented in court, Julius Ford, 26, of Memphis, Tennessee, sent images and videos of children engaged in sexual conduct to others.

On September 4, 2014, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents in Memphis received an investigative lead about an individual in the Memphis area using a flagged email account to send and receive emails containing child exploitation material. The investigation revealed that the IP address and login activity associated with the email account was registered to Ford at a residence in the Frayser area of Memphis.

On September 22, a covert investigator with the Memphis Child Exploitation Task Force contacted the flagged email account, which resulted in a series of emails sent from the account to the covert investigator. The emails contained child exploitation material, including videos depicting prepubescent children engaged in sexual acts with other minors and adults.

Law enforcement executed a search warrant at Ford’s residence on February 2, 2015. Agents seized a hard drive, two laptops, an iPhone, and a thumb drive. In total, forensic examinations conducted on these devices revealed that Ford possessed approximately 555 video files and 2,865 image files depicting sexually explicit conduct involving minors. Ford later admitted to being the user of the mail account and that he had used the account to trade child pornography. The defendant also admitted to sending emails from the account containing videos of child pornography to the covert investigator.

Ford served in the United States Army from 2008 to 2012. During the time of his criminal activity, Ford was active in the Army Reserves.

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

On Wednesday, July 13, 2016, Ford was sentenced by Judge Fowlkes to 97 months in prison and 10 years of supervised release.

The case was investigated by the Memphis Child Exploitation Task Force. The collective is comprised of federal and local law enforcement agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation; HSI; 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 Kasey Weiland prosecuted this case on the government’s behalf.

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."