Georgia Man Pleads Guilty in Federal Court to Receiving Child Pornography

JACKSONVILLE, FL—Acting United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announced today that John Charles Stevenson (45, Rincon, Georgia) pleaded guilty to receiving videos and images depicting child pornography. Stevenson faces a mandatory minimum penalty of not less than five years and up to 20 years in federal prison and a potential life term of supervised release. Stevenson has been in custody since his arrest. A sentencing hearing has not yet been set.

According to court documents, a special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted an investigation to identify individuals in Jacksonville who were trading images and videos depicting child pornography over the Internet. The agent determined that a computer using a particular IP address, in Jacksonville, was hosting child pornography. The agent was able to download several videos of prepubescent children engaged in sexually explicit conduct from this host computer. Further investigation revealed that the subscriber information for this IP address resolved to a residence in Jacksonville, where Stevenson was living.

On January 31, 2013, FBI agents and other officers executed a federal search warrant at the Jacksonville residence and seized two laptop computers. During an interview, Stevenson stated, among other things, that he had been viewing and downloading child pornography for at least three years. He described his activities with child pornography as "interesting, curious, and novel" and stated that he downloads and watches child pornography for his “personal use.” Subsequent analysis of Stevenson's laptop computers revealed a total of at least 24 videos and 51 images depicting child pornography.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown.

It is another 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 individuals who sexually exploit children and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc.