East Bay Man Sentenced To Five Years In Prison For Receipt, Distribution, And Possession Of Child Pornography

SAN FRANCISCO – Nicholas Alan Hodges was sentenced today to 60 months in prison for receiving, distributing, and possessing child pornography, announced United States Attorney David L. Anderson and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent in Charge Ryan L. Spradlin.  The sentence was handed down by the Honorable William H. Orrick, U.S. District Judge.

Hodges, 30, of Oakland, pleaded guilty to the charges on February 7, 2019.  In pleading guilty, Hodges admitted that between approximately August 2016, and March 24, 2017, he knowingly received and distributed through the Internet images and videos of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Defendant acknowledged he used a social media application to engage in conversation with other individuals about child pornography and sent child pornography in chats to those individuals.  In addition, Hodges admitted he possessed four flash drives and a cellular telephone containing visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, some of which contained depictions of sadistic or masochistic conduct or other depictions of violence.  Hodges admitted he possessed more than 600 videos and images of child pornography.  

A federal grand jury indicted Hodges on June 29, 2017, charging him with one count each of receipt of child pornography, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252(a)(2); distribution of child pornography, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252(a)(2); and possession of child pornography, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252(a)(4)(B).  Hodges pleaded guilty to all three charges.  

In addition to the prison term, Judge Orrick sentenced the defendant to a five-year period of supervised release.  Judge Orrick ordered defendant to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on August 24, 2019, to begin serving his prison term.

Assistant United States Attorneys Sailaja M. Paidipaty is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Marina Ponomarchuk.  The prosecution is the result of an investigation by HSI and the San Francisco Police Department.