Press Release
Boone County Man Pleads Guilty to Transportation of Child Pornography
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Kentucky
COVINGTON, Ky.- Joshua E. Tippett, 19, of Florence, Kentucky, pleaded guilty in federal court on Friday, before U.S. District Judge David L. Bunning, and admitted that he knowingly transported child pornography.
Tippett admitted that, from July to December 2018, he used internet based programs and accounts to upload on a computer approximately 50 videos depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
Tippett was indicted in February 2019.
Robert M. Duncan, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Steve Igyarto, Special Agent in Charge, Department of Homeland Security – Homeland Security Investigations (DHS-HSI); Commissioner Rodney Brewer, Kentucky State Police; and Sheriff Michael Helmig, Boone County Sheriff’s Department, jointly announced the guilty plea.
The investigation was conducted by HIS, Kentucky State Police, and Boone County Sheriff’s Department. The U.S. Attorney’s Office was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Weinhold.
Tippett is scheduled to be sentenced on May 21, 2020. He faces up to 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000. However, any sentence will be imposed by the Court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal sentencing statutes.
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 U.S. 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 year 2020 marks the 150th anniversary of the Department of Justice. Learn more about the history of our agency at www.Justice.gov/Celebrating150Years
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Contact
CONTACT: Gabrielle Dudgeon
PHONE: (859) 685-4887
E-MAIL: gabrielle.dudgeon@usdoj.gov
Updated February 3, 2020
Topic
Project Safe Childhood
Component