A Grovetown, Ga., man has been sentenced to nearly six years in federal prison after admitting to possession of child pornography.
Johnathan Malone, 23, of Grovetown, was sentenced to 68 months in prison by U.S. District Court Chief Judge J. Randal Hall after pleading guilty to one count of Possession of Child Pornography, said Acting U.S. Attorney David H. Estes. He also was ordered to pay a total of $21,000 in restitution to victims in the case. After completion of his prison sentence, Malone will be required to serve 25 years of supervised release, and register as a sex offender.
There is no parole in the federal system.
“Protection of our most vulnerable citizens is essential for a safe and secure society,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Estes. “Our law enforcement partners perform outstanding work in monitoring cyber networks to protect children from exploitation – and hold accountable those who do them harm.”
As described in court documents and testimony, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) received information from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that led to the execution of several search warrants. Agents found hundreds of images and videos of child pornography on devices belonging to Malone.
“The GBI will continue to work tirelessly to protect innocent child victims of online exploitation,” said GBI Director Vic Reynolds. “We are grateful for the relationships we maintain with our federal partner agencies to bring these offenders to justice.”
The cases were investigated by the GBI, and prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorney and Project Safe Childhood Coordinator Tara Lyons.
