Francisco Martin Sentenced to 156 Months for Receipt of Child Pornography

GREENEVILLE, TN—Francisco Martin, of Jefferson City, Tenn., was sentenced to serve 156 months in prison, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee at Greeneville, by the Honorable J. Ronnie Greer, U.S. District Judge. Following his prison sentence, Martin will be subject to supervised release under the supervision of the U.S. Probation Office for the remainder of his life. Following a two-day trial in March 2011, a jury convicted Martin of receipt of child pornography, possession of child pornography, and distribution of child pornography.

Martin used personal computers to access the Internet from his residence and elsewhere to download and distribute images of minor children engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Investigators associated with the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC) discovered the defendant’s conduct through an undercover operation in which investigators pose online as parties interested in obtaining child pornography.

William C. Killian, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Tennessee said, “This case represents the continuing commitment of the U.S. Attorney’s Office to eradicate the trade of images of children being sexually exploited.”

Law enforcement agencies participating in the joint investigation which led to indictment and subsequent conviction of Martin included the Morristown Tennessee Police Department ICAC and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Gregory Bowman represented the United States.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a Department initiative launched in 2006 that aims to combat the proliferation of technology-facilitated sexual exploitation crimes against children. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Department of Justice Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, PSC marshals federal, state, tribal, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information visit ProjectSafeChildhood.gov.