Missouri man sentenced to 17 years in federal prison for child pornography

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Missouri man was sentenced Monday to 17 years in prison for receiving child pornography over the Internet. The lengthy sentence resulted from an investigation conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force.

Jason Farris, 31, of Anderson, Mo., was sentenced April 30 by U.S. District Judge Ortrie D. Smith to 17 years and six months in federal prison without parole.

On Dec. 19, Farris pleaded guilty to receiving and distributing child pornography over the Internet. He admitted to using a peer-to-peer file sharing program to receive and share child pornography.

David M. Ketchmark, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced the sentence. Assistant U.S. Attorney James J. Kelleher, Western District of Missouri, successfully prosecuted the case.

This investigation was part of Operation Predator, a nationwide HSI initiative to protect children from sexual predators, including those who travel overseas for sex with minors, Internet child pornographers, criminal alien sex offenders and child sex traffickers. HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-DHS-2ICE or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators.

Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, at 1-800-843-5678 or http://www.cybertipline.com.