Savannah man sentenced to federal prison for distributing child pornography

SAVANNAH, GA:  A Chatham County man has been sentenced to more than seven years in prison after admitting to distributing hundreds of images of child pornography.

James Groover, 57, of Savannah, was sentenced to 88 months in prison after pleading guilty to Distribution of Child Pornography, said David H. Estes, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. U.S. District Court Judge R. Stan Baker also ordered Groover to pay $15,000 in restitution to victims, register as a sex offender, and serve 15 years of supervised release after completion of his prison term.

There is no parole in the federal system.

“Every single act of sharing an image of child exploitation further harms the vulnerable victim,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Estes. “James Groover shared hundreds of such images until our vigilant law enforcement partners brought his reprehensible crimes to a halt.”

As described in court documents and testimony, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children alerted Georgia’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force after identifying graphic child pornography shared from Groover’s address between September 2019 and February 2020. A subsequent search of his residence discovered hundreds of images and videos of child pornography on multiple devices belonging to Groover.

“Individuals who engage in this reprehensible crime perpetuate the trauma endured by victims and cause irreparable harm to our nation’s most vulnerable population,” said Special Agent in Charge Katrina W. Berger, who oversees Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) operations in Georgia and Alabama. “HSI special agents will continue to work with law enforcement partners to find and remove these offenders from our communities.”  

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/.

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Savannah Police Department, and Prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorney and Project Safe Childhood Coordinator Tara M. Lyons.