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Decade Behind Bars for Riverside Sex Offender
LOS ANGELES — A Riverside man has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for possessing child pornography, including explicit images of pre-pubescent girls under the age of 12.
James Gregory O’Neill, 58, was sentenced Monday afternoon by United States District Judge R. Gary Klausner after pleading guilty in January to possessing child pornography on his mobile phone in the spring of 2015.
O’Neill was on parole at the time of the offense, having been convicted in Riverside Superior Court of possessing matter depicting a minor in a sexual act, a crime that led to a two-year sentence. He had also been convicted in federal court in 2003 of distributing child pornography, a conviction that brought a 40-month prison sentence.
“Mr. O’Neill has now been convicted three separate times of serious felony offenses related to child pornography,” said United States Attorney Eileen M. Decker. “Even after his prior convictions, he was not deterred from continuing to engage in crimes that victimize children. Because of his repeated failure to behave lawfully, Mr. O’Neill earned the decade-long sentence imposed by the Court.”
The case against O’Neill was investigated by the Riverside Police Department and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). O’Neill is one of a half-dozen men from the Inland Empire who currently face federal charges related to child pornography.
HSI Special Agent Joseph Macias echoed the sentiment that child predators must be held accountable for their crimes. “Every time a sexually explicit image or video of a minor is downloaded and viewed, the child who’s shown is victimized again,” Macias said. “That’s why HSI, in close collaboration with its law enforcement partners and prosecutors, is using every resource and tool at its disposal not only to target those involved in online child sexual exploitation, but also to identify and rescue the children who’ve fallen prey to these predators.”
This case highlights the ongoing struggle to combat child exploitation, with several other men from the Inland Empire facing federal charges related to child pornography. Among them is Jeremy Matthew Meyerett, 41, of San Bernardino, who has agreed to plead guilty to production of child pornography in a case that carries a 15-year mandatory minimum prison term.
Andrew Harrison Fowler, 26, of Perris, a convicted sex offender, pleaded guilty on April 18 to possession of child pornography, with some of the images depicting victims younger than 10. Fowler is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Phillips on June 27, at which time he will face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison and maximum possible sentence of 20 years.
Anthony Michael Scotti, 22, of Murrieta, pleaded guilty on April 4 to possession of child pornography. Scotti, who was previously convicted in Riverside Superior court of distributing lewd material to a minor, admitted that he had images on an iPod that was seized by law enforcement last August, and that he used the KIK messaging app to distribute images of child pornography.
Key Facts
- State: California
- Category: Sex Crimes|Cybercrime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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