Glen Carbon Man Sentenced for Receipt and Possession of Visual Depictions of Minors Engaged in Sexually Explicit Conduct

Arlynn Gene Georgeson, 54, of Glen Carbon, Illinois, was sentenced today after pleading guilty to an information on June 17, 2013, charging, in count one, receipt of visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct; and, in count two, possession of visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, announced today. Georgeson was sentenced to 97 months' imprisonment on both counts, to run concurrently; five years' supervised release on each count, also to run concurrently; and was ordered to pay a special assessment of $200. The court waived the fine. Georgeson was also ordered to pay, by consent of the parties, $1,000 in restitution to one of the victims portrayed in the images of child pornography in his possession. The court also ordered that the computer used to commit the charged offenses be forfeited. Finally, upon his release from prison, Georgeson must register as a sex offender.

Evidence presented at sentencing was that, on September 27, 2011, during an undercover operation, two FBI agents in separate states were both able to download images of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct from a computer that was later linked to the defendant. Both offices forwarded this information to the FBI’s Springfield Child Exploitation Task Force located in its Fairview Heights Office. Members of the task force subsequently obtained a search warrant for the defendant’s residence in Glen Carbon, Illinois.

One of the items seized during the execution of the search warrant was a Dell Studio Laptop Computer, Model 1555. A forensic examination of the Dell laptop revealed approximately 16,282 images and 512 videos of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. The majority of the images and/or videos of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct that the defendant possessed were of minors between the ages of 2 and 12. There were also images on the laptop of toddlers between the ages of 2 and 5 being orally, vaginally, or anally penetrated, as well as images of bondage involving minors. Georgeson later admitted to law enforcement officers that he was the primary user of the laptop and that he put the images of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct on the computer (count two). The examination also revealed that several of the images of the minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct had been downloaded by the defendant, using a file sharing program, on December 28, 2011 (count one).

During the search of his residence, Georgeson agreed to provide a voluntary statement to law enforcement officers. Georgeson stated that he was the sole user of the file sharing program found on the Dell Studio laptop and that he initially used the program to download music. Georgeson stated that he began to see images of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct in some of the downloads and subsequently started searching for such image and/or video files. Georgeson said that he viewed the “younger” images and that gender was not an issue for him. He described “younger” as being a prepubescent with no hip or breast development. He also admitted having some images involving infants saved to his laptop computer. Finally, Georgeson admitted saving the images and videos of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct to the laptop computer, stating that he used the images for personal gratification and “research,” and that he downloaded the images and/or videos while his wife was at work.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in 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. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “Resources.”

The case was investigated by the FBI’s New Orleans Office and the FBI’s Springfield Child Exploitation Task Force. The case was assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Angela Scott.