Former Bakersfield Police Detective Pleads Guilty to Possession of Child Pornography

FRESNO, CA—Christopher Kent Bowersox, 41, of Bakersfield, pleaded guilty today to one count of possession of child pornography, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.

According to court documents, Bowersox came to the attention of law enforcement after an individual involved in trafficking child pornography in Florida was arrested. That individual had engaged in numerous graphic chat communications with Bowersox. When Bakersfield Police Department detectives executed a search warrant at Bowersox’s residence, they located a computer and several digital storage devices that contained images of child pornography. Many of the images depicted prepubescent minors, and several depicted violence or sadistic or masochistic conduct.

Bowersox is scheduled to be sentenced by Senior United States District Judge Anthony W. Ishii on May 6, 2013. Bowersox faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and a lifetime term of supervised release. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory sentencing factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

This case is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bakersfield Police Department, with assistance from the Kern County Sheriff’s Office. Bowersox has been in federal custody since February 12, 2010, and he has been ordered detained as a flight risk and danger to the community. Assistant United States Attorney David Gappa is prosecuting the case.