PORTLAND, Ore. - Jasper Neil Blair, 37, formerly of Portland, Oregon, now living in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, was sentenced to 30 months in prison today by United States District Judge Anna J. Brown, for possessing child pornography. Blair pleaded guilty on May 31, 2012, to knowingly possessing an image which contained a visual depiction of a young girl being sexually abused. Upon release from custody, Blair will serve a 10-year period of supervised release. During his supervised release, he must abide by a number of conditions which include a sex offender assessment and treatment program, no contact with minors without approval, restricted access to computers and the Internet, and registration as a sex offender.

The case arose in January 2010, when a computer systems official for the U.S. Department of Interior (DOI) discovered a suspicious email routed through DOI's servers. Further investigation revealed that Blair, then an employee of DOI's Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), was communicating on his government-issued laptop computer with another person about their mutual sexual interest in children. Blair has now admitted that he solicited, received via email, and possessed an image depicting a six-year-old girl being sexually abused. That image, along with many others images depicting child sexual abuse, were produced by a local couple, who have already been prosecuted and are currently serving 49-year and 46-year federal prison sentences.

"Let this case send a clear message that possessing even one image of child sexual abuse will result in prosecution, a lengthy prison sentence, and a substantial term of post-incarceration supervision, to ensure the safety of the children in our community," said U.S. Attorney Amanda Marshall.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys - Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

The case was investigated by the Department of the Interior, Office of Inspector General, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stacie F. Beckerman.