Chico Man Found Guilty of Receipt, Distribution, and Conspiracy to Produce Child Pornography

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — After a three–day trial, a federal jury found Jesse Davenport, aka Draco John Flama, 41, of Chico, guilty today of conspiracy to sexually exploit a child, two counts of receipt of child pornography, and one count of distribution of child pornography, Acting United States Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced. The trial was held before United States District Judge Morrison C. England Jr.

According to evidence presented at trial, in September of 2013, Davenport was on parole for a prior offense.  During a parole search, his parole agent seized a micro-SD card from a phone he possessed. Several days later, Davenport cut off his electronic monitor and fled from parole. A subsequent search of the seized micro-SD card revealed a video of a woman engaged in sexually explicit conduct with a child approximately 2-3 years old. Additional investigation identified the woman in the sexually explicit video as a resident of Connecticut. She was later arrested and admitted that she conspired with Davenport to produce the video after meeting Davenport in an online chat room focused on bondage, domination, sadism, and masochism. After the Connecticut woman sent the sexually explicit video of the minor to him, Davenport distributed the video to another person. Later, the Connecticut woman sent the video to Davenport a second time.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Redding Police Department, and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Assistant United States Attorney André M. Espinosa is prosecuting the case.

Davenport is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge England on January 5, 2017. Because of his prior conviction, Davenport faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years in prison and a maximum possible penalty of 50 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the conspiracy conviction. Similarly, because of his prior conviction he faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and a maximum possible penalty of 40 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each of the receipt and the distribution convictions. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, 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, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. Click on the “resources” tab for information about internet safety education.