Jason Mark Sims, Distributing Child Pornography, Virginia 2017

A Washington, D.C., lawyer has been caught up in a shocking case of child pornography distribution.

Jason Mark Sims, 35, pleaded guilty today to distributing videos of child sexual abuse.

According to court documents, Sims replied to an advertisement placed by an undercover FBI agent on Craigslist. Sims and the undercover agent discussed meeting so that Sims could sexually abuse the undercover agent's purported 10-year-old daughter.

Sims ultimately declined to meet the undercover in person, but he did provide the undercover with links to videos depicting the sexual abuse of girls as young as 4 years old.

Sims pleaded guilty to distribution of child pornography and faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and a maximum of 20 years in prison when sentenced on December 1, 2017.

Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 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.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-edva/pr/lawyer-pleads-guilty-distributing-videos-child-sexual-abuse