James A. Newton, Possession of Child Porn, South Carolina 2013

In a disturbing case, James A. Newton, a 54-year-old Easley man, pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography in federal court in Anderson, South Carolina.

According to the investigation, an agent with the Department of Homeland Security, Office of Investigations downloaded child pornography from a user in Easley, SC, on April 17, 2013. Further investigation revealed that the IP address was associated with Newton's residence.

On July 9, 2013, agents executed a federal search warrant at his residence and seized multiple computers and storage devices. The investigation revealed that Newton had 121 child porn videos and 2,517 still images of minors under the age of 18 engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

The case was investigated by agents of the Department of Homeland Security, Office of Investigations, and Assistant United States Attorney Bill Watkins of the Greenville office handled the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims.

Newton will be sentenced once a pre-sentence investigation report has been prepared by the U.S. Probation Office. The investigation and prosecution of this case were handled by Assistant United States Attorney Bill Watkins of the Greenville office.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sc/pr/easley-man-pleads-guilty-possession-child-porn