Gulfport Man Sentenced to Almost 18 Years for Transporting Images of Minors Engaged in Sexually Explicit Conduct

Gulfport, Miss. – Jesse Allen Nichols, 37, of Gulfport, was sentenced today by Senior U.S. District Judge Louis Guirola Jr. to serve 210 months in federal prison, followed by 20 years of supervised release, for transporting images of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst and Jere T. Miles, Special Agent in Charge of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations in New Orleans. Nichols was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $24,000 to victims and a special assessment of $5,000 under the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015.

“Those who peddle in obscene images of children will feel the full force and weight of the law upon their shoulders.  I want to thank our partners at Homeland Security and NCMEC for helping us bring this reprehensible criminal to justice.  We will be unrelenting in ensuring that the least among us are protected and safe,” said U.S. Attorney Hurst.

In February 2018, Nichols transported images of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct to “Dropbox,” on online storage medium, which resulted in the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) issuing a CyberTipline Report to Homeland Security Investigations containing at least 55 videos of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct.  Further investigation revealed the email and user name of Nichols and it was determined that Nichols’s cell phone was used in transporting the images of the minors.

Nichols was indicted on December 12, 2018.  When arrested on the indictment, Nichols admitted to the use of his cellular telephone to access various social media platforms and online storage mediums.  He affirmed the use of his cellular telephone and the email identified in the CyberTipline Report, and that, through such access on his cellular device, he stored images and videos of child pornography.  Nichols pled guilty before Judge Guirola on August 1, 2019.

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations.  It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrea Jones and Trial Attorney Ralph A. Paradiso with the Department of Justice Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice.  Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.