Hephzibah, Ga., man sentenced to prison for possession of child pornography

AUGUSTA, GA:  A Richmond County man was sentenced to federal prison after admitting he possessed hundreds of images of child sexual exploitation.

Justin Bryan, 34, of Hephzibah, Ga., was sentenced to 80 months in prison after pleading guilty to Possession of Child Pornography, said David H. Estes, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. U.S. District Court Judge Dudley H. Bowen also ordered Bryan to pay $18,000 in restitution to victims, and to serve 15 years of supervised release and register as a sex offender after completion of his prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.

“Each time an image of sexual exploitation is shared on the internet, a vulnerable child is revictimized,” said U.S. Attorney Estes. “We applaud the work of our law enforcement partners and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in identifying predators like Justin Bryan, and our office will continue to ensure they are held accountable for their crimes.”

In December 2020, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) received a cybertip identifying online images of child pornography. NCMEC alerted the FBI, and agents later located and arrested Bryan and seized multiple electronic devices that were found to contain hundreds of videos and images depicting sexual exploitation of children.

“This sentence demonstrates the determination of the FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office to find those who prey on children in our communities and bring them to justice,” said Philip Wislar, Acting Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “Our message to these predators is you cannot hide behind the ‘anonymity’ of the internet.”

The case was investigated by the FBI, and prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeremiah L. Johnson and Project Safe Childhood Coordinator Tara M. Lyons.

Anyone with information on suspected child sexual exploitation can contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 800-843-5678, or https://report.cybertip.org/.