Jerry Batchelor, Child Pornography, Missouri 2016

A Carthage, Missouri man has been sentenced for his role in receiving and distributing child pornography over the internet.

Jerry Batchelor, 52, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison without parole by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool. Additionally, Batchelor will be on supervised release for the rest of his life following incarceration.

Batchelor pleaded guilty on Jan. 11, 2016, to receiving and distributing child pornography over the internet. He utilized a peer-to-peer file-sharing network to obtain and trade images and videos of child pornography between Aug. 10, 2012, and April 4, 2014.

A search warrant was executed at Batchelor's residence on April 7, 2014, and a desktop computer was seized along with three portable hard drives, a thumb drive, and an SD card. Images and videos of child pornography included prepubescent minors and sado-masochistic images. Investigators also found videos taken by Batchelor, who secretly videotaped adults in the bathroom.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James J. Kelleher. It was investigated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Southwest Missouri Cybercrimes Task Force.

Project Safe Childhood

This case was brought as 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-wdmo/pr/carthage-man-sentenced-child-porn