James Grimes, a 29-year-old man from Columbus, Georgia, has been sentenced to 97 months in prison for possessing child pornography. The sentencing was handed down on April 22, 2015, by Chief U.S. District Court Judge Clay D. Land.
As part of an ongoing investigation by Homeland Security Investigations, a search warrant was executed at Grimes’ home on April 30, 2012. During a voluntary conversation with agents, Grimes admitted to owning multiple computers and having “illegal stuff” on some of them. He further admitted to accessing wireless modems around his neighborhood, downloading child pornography, and forwarding it to others.
At the time of the interview, Grimes was in possession of more than 600 pornographic images. “The defendant’s use of unsecured wireless networks to try to hide his crimes did not deter HSI special agents from tracking him down, but it should serve as a reminder to businesses and residents with networks to make sure they are secured,” said Ryan L. Spradlin, acting special agent in charge of HSI Atlanta.
Grimes will also be required to register as a sex offender as part of his sentence. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Crawford Seals.
In a separate case, Kenneth Nichelson, a 56-year-old man from Cataula, Georgia, was sentenced to 180 months’ imprisonment by Judge Land on April 23, 2015. Nichelson entered a plea of guilty to child pornography on December 14, 2014. He admitted that between June 2010 and March 2011, he purchased nine DVDs depicting child pornography from a company in Toronto, Canada.
When arrested on July 8, 2014, Nichelson was in possession of more than 10, but fewer than 150 images of child pornography on a computer in his home. A criminal history check on Nichelson revealed that he had a previous conviction of sexual abuse in the 2nd degree in 1994 in New York. Due to his previous conviction, he was sentenced to an additional 10 years in prison.
“These defendants re-victimized the children who were exploited by the producers of the original child pornography. Their illegal actions are part of the ongoing and unspeakable trade of stealing the innocence from child victims. We will continue to use our resources not only to catch the producers of this filth, but also to catch the people who possess it,” said U.S. Attorney Michael Moore.
Related Federal Cases
- James Grimes, Child Pornography, Georgia 2015 · Illinois
- Tennessee Man Guilty of Child Pornography Charges · Illinois
- Ronald E. Wheaton, Distribution of Child Pornography, Indiana 2014 · New York
- Ibrahim Dirweesh, Possession of Child Pornography, New York 2018 · Tennessee
- Ryan Meyung, Child Exploitation, Georgia 2021 · New York
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