Knoxville Man Sentenced to 70 Months for Possession of Child Pornography

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – On August 12, 2025, Nathan Hart, 24, of Knoxville, Tennessee, was sentenced to 70 months in prison by the Honorable Thomas A. Varlan, United States District Judge, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee at Knoxville.  He was also ordered to pay $45,000 in restitution to his victims.  Following his imprisonment, he will be on supervised release for 20 years and will be required to register with the state sex offender registry and comply with special sex offender conditions.

As part of the plea agreement filed with the court, Hart agreed to plead guilty to an indictment charging him with, one count of possession of and access with intent to view child pornography in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252A(a)(5)(B).

According to filed court documents, in May of 2023, after receiving tips of child pornography being distributed on the internet by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, investigators determined that the computer and internet service used belonged to Nathan Hart at his residential address.  Investigators conducted a search of Hart’s residence and electronics, finding multiples files of child pornography, including at least twenty-four videos containing sexually explicit material.  One video was over an hour long. A search of Hart’s electronics revealed numerous saved images of child pornography depicting known and unknown victims throughout the world that Hart obtained from online sources. 

U.S. Attorney Francis M. Hamilton III of the Eastern District of Tennessee and Special Agent in Charge, Rana Saoud, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), made the announcement.

Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Kolman represented the United States.

The criminal indictment was the result of an investigation by the Knoxville Police Department Internet Crimes Against Children Unit, HSI, and Knox County Sheriff's office. The investigation was led by HSI Task Force Officer Thomas Evans.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), 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 Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, PSC 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 PSC, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.justice.gov/psc/resources.html and click on the tab "resources.”

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