Jeffrey Stidham Sentenced to 121 Months in Prison for Distribution and Possession of Child Pornography

KNOXVILLE—Jeffrey Alan Stidham, 46, of New Tazewell, Tennessee, was sentenced to 121 months in prison in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee by the Honorable Thomas A. Varlan, U.S. District Judge. The sentence was imposed as the result of guilty pleas entered by Stidham on October 21, 2010 to a federal indictment charging him with knowingly distributing and possessing child pornography that had been transported in interstate and foreign commerce by any means, including by computer. Upon his release from prison, Stidham will serve a life term of supervised release and was ordered to participate in a program of sex offender mental health treatment. Also, as a result of the conviction, the federal Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act will require Stidham to register with th state sex offender registry anywhere he resides, is employed, or is a student following his incarceration.

This conviction is the result of a investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew T. Morris 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.