Hampshire County man sentenced for child pornography charge

MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Jonathan Burgess, of Augusta, West Virginia, was sentenced today to 70 months of incarceration for a child pornography charge, United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II announced.

Burgess, age 58, pleaded guilty in December 2020 to one count of “Possession of Child Pornography.” Burgess admitted to having child pornography images of a minor who hadn’t reached the age of 12 in Hampshire County in September 2019.

During a search of Burgess’s phone, investigators found more than 6,700 images. A search of his yahoo email account found more than 600 images of child pornography.

After serving his sentence, Burgess will be on supervised release for 25 years.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberley D. Crockett prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The West Virginia State Police investigated.

Chief U.S. District Judge Gina M. Groh presided.