Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch announced Friday the sentencing of James Arnold of Oxford, Mississippi.
Arnold pleaded guilty to possession of child sexual abuse material, according to a news release.
The case was investigated by the Attorney General's Office and the FBI, and prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Mississippi.
“My office is committed to holding individuals who exploit children accountable for their crimes. Thanks to the diligent work of our cybercrime investigators, we successfully stopped a predator from doing more harm,” said Fitch. “I am grateful to our partners at the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's Office for their work to secure this sentence. Together, we are making Mississippi a safer place for everyone."
On May 1, U.S. District Court Judge Michael P. Mills sentenced Arnold to 15 years in the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons followed by a 10-year term of supervised release. He was ordered to pay $41,500 in restitution to the victims identified in the offense. Arnold will also have to register as a sex offender upon release.
The news release stated people with information about a child being sexually exploited online, please report it to 1-800-843-5678. You can also make a report online at www.cybertipline.org. The hotline is manned by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and tips are reported to the Attorney General’s Office, which runs the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force for Mississippi.
