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The United States Attorney's Office
Middle District of Tennessee
Edward M. Yarbrough
United States Attorney
S. Carran Daughtrey
Assistant United States Attorney
615-736-5151
HERMITAGE MAN SENTENCED TO 235 MONTHS IMPRISONMENT FOR DISTRIBUTION OF CHILD PORNOGRAPHY
Nashville, TN – November 18, 2008 - Edward M. Yarbrough, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee, My Harrison, Special Agent in Charge (SAC) of the Memphis Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and Mark Gwyn, Director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI), announced that forty-nine year old Richard Steven Brown, of Hermitage, Tennessee, was sentenced yesterday to 235 months (19 years and 7 months) in prison, followed by six years of supervision, by U.S. District Court Judge Aleta Trauger, for Transportation of Child Pornography, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2252A(a)(1), Receipt of Child Pornography, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2252A(a)(2)(A), and Receipt of Child Pornography, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2252A(a)(5)(B). Defendant pled guilty to these charges on June 10, 2008.
The testimony at the plea hearing on June 10, 2008 and the sentencing hearing on November 17, 2008, revealed that Brown had been transmitting child pornography electronically through email since as early as August 30, 2004. On three different occasions in 2005 and 2006, Brown had sent emails to an undercover law enforcement officer, which contained videos and images of adults engaged in sexually explicit conduct with prepubescent children, some as young as infants. An examination of his computer revealed that Brown had collected several hundred images and videos of child pornography, some of which included bondage, bestiality, and penetration of very young children.
Prior to his plea in this case, Brown was convicted locally of Attempted Aggravated Battery of a nine year old girl in early 2007.
United States Attorney Yarbrough praised the cooperation between state and federal agencies in this case and stated, “Federal prosecutors will continue to aggressively pursue purveyors of child pornography in the Middle District of Tennessee, recognizing that many of them have had contact offenses against children, as did this individual. The fact that this defendant was engaging in sexually explicit activity with a young child demonstrates the need to identify and prosecute such predators at the earliest possible stage. Fortunately, our community will be safe from this individual for a long period of time.”
The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Carran Daughtrey.