Photographer Charged with Possession and Transportation of Child Pornography

JACKSON, TN—Robert Gregory Dempsey a/k/a “Jesse Rockwell,” 48, of Perry County, Tennessee, was indicted Monday by a federal grand jury in Jackson, Tennessee, on one count of possession of child pornography and one count of interstate transportation of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Edward L. Stanton, III.

Dempsey was the owner and operator of Rockwell Photography and used social media and the Internet to promote his business throughout western and central Tennessee, including Nashville and the Perry County area.

If convicted on these charges, Dempsey could face up to 20 years in federal prison and fines of up to $250,000 on each count. There is no parole in the federal system.

This case is being investigated by the FBI and the Perry County Sheriff’s Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Deb Ireland is representing the government.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), 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, PSC 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 PSC, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/resources.html and click on the tab “Resources.”