Washington, D.C. Man Sentenced to 54 Months in Prison For Downloading Child Pornography

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, January 9, 2023

Man Apprehended After Using the Dark Web

            WASHINGTON – John Green, 81, of the District of Columbia, was sentenced today to 54 months in prison for accessing and downloading child pornography.  The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, and Special Agent in Charge Wayne A. Jacobs, of the FBI Washington Field Office’s Criminal and Cyber Division. 

            Green pleaded guilty on October 25, 2022, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, before the Honorable Colleen Kollar-Kotelly.  Green must also pay $18,000 in restitution to his victims. Upon completion of his prison term, he will be placed on five years of supervised release and will be required to register as a sex offender for 15 years. 

            According to the government’s evidence, in May of 2019, Green used his computer to access a website on the Dark Web that offered individuals the opportunity to access and download child sexual abuse material, featuring children as young as infants. At the time of this criminal offense, Green was 78 years old.  In July of 2021, law enforcement obtained a search warrant for Green’s home.  A laptop computer was seized which, when forensically examined, was found to contain over nine hundred images and videos of child pornography.  Additionally, numerous DVDs and books were discovered which featured children in various states of undress, and in sexually explicit situations.

            This case was brought as part of the Department of Justice's Project Safe Childhood initiative and investigated by the FBI's Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, which includes members of the FBI's Washington Field Office and MPD. In February 2006, the Attorney General created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorney's Offices, 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 identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Graves and Special Agent in Charge Jacobs commended the work of those who investigated the case from the FBI's Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, which includes members of the FBI's Washington Field Office and MPD’s Youth Investigations Division. They acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy E. Larson, who prosecuted the case.