Jefferson County Man Sentenced for Child Pornography Violations

BEAUMONT, Texas –  A 32-year-old Port Arthur, Texas man has been sentenced to federal prison for child pornography violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney John M. Bales today.

Johnathan Lee Evans pleaded guilty on Feb. 1, 2012, to possession of child pornography and was sentenced to 122 months in federal prison today by U.S. District Judge Ron Clark.

According to information presented in court, on Aug. 31, 2011, a federal search warrant was executed at Evans' residence on El Paso Avenue in Port Arthur.  Several computers and related media storage devices were seized and a forensic analysis of the equipment revealed approximately 100 videos and 57,000 images of child pornography.  Some of the images depicted prepubescent children under the age of 12 years engaged to sexually explicit conduct.  A federal grand jury returned an indictment on Sep. 21, 2011, charging Evans with federal violations.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), 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 to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher T. Tortorice.