Steven Dale Jones, 43, of Fresno is headed to federal prison for 11-and-a-half years for receiving and distributing child pornography.
Jones received the sentence from U.S. District Judge Dale A. Drozd on Monday, according to a news release from the Department of Justice.
According to charging documents, Jones was working as a software consultant to Fresno County government when he was arrested by FBI agents on April 13, 2017.
While being interviewed by authorities that day, Jones said that he began viewing child porn in about 2011. An examination of the devices in his possession revealed about 35,000 images of suspected child porn, agents said.
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Grenade Found in the Apartment
The charging documents also state that the Fresno Police Department’s bomb squad was called to Jones’ northeast Fresno apartment to secure the scene. That’s because a grenade rested on the top of his safe. The bomb squad removed the grenade without incident.
The sentence for Jones includes post-prison supervision for 20 years. During that time, Jones’ access to minors, computers, and the internet will be restricted. He will also be required to register as a sex offender.
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The court has scheduled a hearing for June 27 to address restitution to his victims.
According to court documents, Jones came to the attention of investigators when he shared numerous child pornography files on a BitTorrent file-sharing network in December 2016.
Assistant U.S. Attorney David Gappa and Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section Trial Attorneys Alicia Bove and Nadia Prinz prosecuted the case.
