Panama City Beach Man Sentenced to 78 Months in Prison for Possession of Child Pornography

PANAMA CITY, FLORIDA – Curtis Jason Jones, 39, of Panama City Beach was sentenced to 78 months in prison yesterday after pleading guilty on October 12, 2017, to possession of child pornography.  The sentence was announced by Christopher P. Canova, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.

In March 2015, law enforcement officers received information that Jones was in possession of child pornography.  In June 2015, officers executed a search warrant on Jones’s residence.  Forensic examinations of the electronic items seized during the search revealed hundreds of images and one video of child pornography, including 56 images and one video file containing known child victims previously identified by law enforcement.  The child pornography images that Jones possessed showed children who appeared to be 10 years of age and younger, with some as young as five years of age.

“Children deserve to be protected from online exploitation, and my office and our law enforcement partners are committed to pursuing child predators who target innocent children,” said United States Attorney Canova.

“While already serving time for sexual battery, this criminal’s electronic devices were searched, and he was also discovered to be a child predator,” said HSI Tampa Special Agent in Charge James C. Spero.  “HSI special agents and our partners at the Panama City Beach Police Department and the Northern District Florida United States Attorney Office have now ensured he will be held accountable for his crimes against children, in addition to the sentence he is already serving for sexual battery.”

The case was investigated by the Panama City Beach Police Department and the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Christopher J. Thielemann.

The United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General.  To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website.  For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.