Columbus Man Sentenced for Possession of Child Pornography

OXFORD, MS—John Marshall Alexander, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Mississippi, and Daniel McMullen, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), announce that:

Robert Triplett, 59, of Columbus, was sentenced Thursday, April 14 by Chief United States District Judge Michael P. Mills in Oxford, Mississippi, following his guilty plea in August 2010 to a one-count indictment charging him with possession of child pornography, in violation of Title 18, Sections 2252A(a)(5)(B) and 2256(8)(A) of the United States Code.

Chief Judge Mills ordered Triplett to serve the statutory maximum of 120 months in prison, to be followed by 10 years' supervised release. The sentence imposed is to run consecutive to a sentence Triplett is currently serving pursuant to a state conviction.

John Marshall Alexander, United States Attorney stated, “It is a priority of the United States Attorney’s Office to protect children and prevent child exploitation. I appreciate the diligent effort of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Columbus Police Department and the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation in pursuing this significant Project Safe Childhood prosecution. The 10-year prison sentence is fully justified by the facts of the case.”

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Columbus Police Department, and the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Clay Joyner and Chad Lamar.