Jackson, Miss. Man Sentenced to 70 Months in Prison
for Receiving and Possessing Child Pornography

Joseph McNealy, a former Jackson, Miss., computer systems administrator, was sentenced today to 70 months in prison for receiving and possessing images of child pornography.

McNealy, 39, was also sentenced to lifetime supervised release following his term in prison by U.S. District Judge David C. Bramlette III, and was ordered to pay a $2,000 fine.

McNealy was found guilty after a four-day jury trial in Natchez, Miss., in March 2009 of receiving and possessing image files of child pornography, which federal investigators discovered on his home computer on Sept. 14, 2004. According to testimony presented at trial, McNealy received the child pornography from Internet newsgroups and Web sites on or about April 16, 2003, through on or about May 21, 2003; on or about Feb. 5, 2004, through on or about Sept. 14, 2004; and on or about June 29, 2004.

The original indictment charging McNealy was issued by a federal grand jury in October 2007. A superseding indictment adding to the original charges was issued by the grand jury in August 2008.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Glenda R. Haynes of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Jackson and Barak Cohen of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS). CEOS’ High-Tech Investigative Unit and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) provided forensic analysis of McNealy’s computer. The charges resulted from an ICE investigation.