Columbia County Man Sentenced To More Than 6 Years For Receiving Child Pornography Over The Internet

Jacksonville, Florida – United States District Judge Marcia Morales Howard today sentenced John George Sessine (59, Lake City) to 6 years and 3 months in federal prison for receiving images and videos depicting the sexual abuse of minor children over the Internet.  He was also sentenced to a 10-year term of supervision and ordered to register as a sex offender, following his incarceration.  Sessine has been in custody since his arrest in Lake City on June 5, 2013. 

According to court documents, on June 5, 2013, FBI agents and other law enforcement officers executed a federal search warrant at a residence occupied by Sessine, in Lake City, Florida.  The FBI had previously learned that at least one computer using an Internet Protocol (IP) address that resolved to this residence was sharing videos of child pornography over the Internet. Sessine was at the residence and was interviewed by the agents.  During an interview, Sessine stated that he used a particular file sharing program to download images and videos, and that the youngest child depicted on his computer was 10 or 12 years old.  A forensic analysis of Sessine’s computer media revealed that he had collected 107 images and 104 videos of minor children being sexually abused. 

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.  It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown.

It is another case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc.