Pinal County Man Sentenced to 129 Months in Prison for Distributing Child Pornography

PHOENIX, Ariz. – A Pinal County man was sentenced last week in federal court for distribution of child pornography from 2016 to 2017.

James Stacey Porter, 59, was sentenced April 13, 2026, by U.S. District Judge John J. Tuchi to 129 months in prison. Porter previously pleaded guilty to Distribution of Child Pornography on Oct. 10, 2025.

“Child Sexual Abuse Material causes significant emotional distress to the children depicted in the images and videos,” said U.S. Attorney Timothy Courchaine. “Every offender in a file sharing network, like BitTorrent used in this case, is able to grow his collection exponentially with a click of the button at the expense of the minors depicted. We are committed to focusing on not only the producers, but on those who participate in distributing and receiving such illegal materials and bring them to justice.”

“The actions perpetrated by this defendant are reprehensible and will not be tolerated,” said FBI Phoenix Special Agent in Charge, Rebecca Day. “The FBI and our law enforcement partners remain resolute in keeping children in our communities safe, and those who prey on children will be pursued, investigated, and held accountable – no matter how long it takes.”

Porter was detected in the BitTorrent file sharing network during a proactive FBI investigation in 2016 through 2017. Law enforcement connected to Porter’s computer in Phoenix, Arizona, and received child pornography files that Porter’s computer was sharing. Porter gave a statement where he admitted to using search terms specific for finding child pornography files. He also stated he had sought out child pornography for several years. Porter was in possession of approximately 3,509 image files and 175 video files of child pornography.

The federal sentence followed a separate conviction in Pinal County Superior Court for Sexual Exploitation of a Minor for a different case, in which he was sentenced in August 2024 to 10 years in prison.

This 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 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, local, and tribal 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 Justice.gov/PSC. 

The FBI’s Phoenix field office, as part of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, conducted the investigation. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, Phoenix, handled the prosecution.

CASE NUMBER:            18-CR-00240

RELEASE NUMBER:    2026-066_Porter

(note PR originally sent out as #067 to media)

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For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/

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