Thaindian News

TUCSON, Ariz. – Arnold Taylor, 57, of Sierra Vista, Ariz., was sentenced in Tucson on August 31, 2009, to four years in prison by U.S. District Judge David C. Bury. Taylor pleaded guilty on December 13, 2008, to Possession of Child Pornography.

In April of 2007, Special Agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation located an individual offering files for download using a peer-to-peer program. The files available for sharing included movie files which depicted minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. During the investigation, the FBI executed a search warrant at Taylor’s home and seized a computer, computer equipment and storage media. A forensic review of the computer and media revealed over 150 images and movie files of children engaged in sexually explicit conduct, including images of children as young as two years old being sexually violated.

At sentencing, the defense asked for a sentence of only a few months for Taylor who is medically disabled and being treated for pancreatic cancer. The defense also argued that Taylor is not sexually interested in children due to the fact that his sexual function was destroyed in an accident at age 22. In issuing the sentence of 48 months, Judge Bury stated that due to the seriousness of the offense, “a message has to be sent, whoever the defendant and whatever his circumstances.”

The sentence of four years in prison imposed by Judge Bury will be followed by supervised release for the remainder of Taylor’s life with a number of conditions including the condition that he register as a sex offender.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys 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/.

The investigation in this case was conducted by the FBI. The prosecution was handled by Carin C. Duryée and David P. Flannigan, Assistant U.S. Attorneys, District of Arizona, Tucson.