Justin Owens, Distributing Child Sexual Abuse Material, Indiana 2021

A man from Evansville, Indiana, has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for his role in distributing child sexual abuse material and illegally possessing a firearm.

Justin Owens, 63, pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm and distribution of child sexual abuse material, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Indiana.

Law enforcement officers received information in October 2020 that Owens was distributing child sexual abuse material using Instagram Direct, and on May 11, 2021, they executed a search warrant at his Evansville residence, where they found a 12-gauge shotgun and assorted ammunition, as well as a loaded .22 caliber handgun and ammunition in a camper on the property.

Owens is prohibited by federal law from possessing firearms due to a 1999 felony conviction for child molestation in Vanderburgh County, Indiana. As a result, he was subject to an enhanced penalty under U.S. law for the distribution of sexually explicit material involving minors.

The FBI investigated the case, with assistance from the Evansville Police Department, and U.S. District Judge Richard L. Young imposed the sentence. As part of the sentence, Owens will be supervised by the U.S. Probation Office for 20 years following his release from federal prison and will be required to register as a sex offender wherever he lives, works, or goes to school.

U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Myers thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Shellenbarger for prosecuting the case, which 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.

The Southern District of Indiana was second among the 94 federal districts in the country for the number of child sexual exploitation cases prosecuted in fiscal year 2019, the most recent year for which data is available.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdin/pr/evansville-sex-offender-sentenced-15-years-federal-prison-distribution-child-sexual