Senior Airman Robert E. Gorman - Guilty Child Porn

Military computer forensics experts scouring Gorman's computer hard drive found dozens of images and video clips of boys and girls being raped, molested and tortured.

Some of the victims are suspected of being as young as 3.

SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, Germany A Spangdahlem-based Air Force crew chief pleaded guilty Jan. 28 to possessing 121 images of child pornography on his personal laptop computer.

A military judge sentenced Senior Airman Robert E. Gorman, 23, to three years in prison, reduction to the lowest pay grade, forfeiture of all pay and allowances and a dishonorable discharge at the court-martial Jan. 28.

The Air Force found out about the child pornography on Gorman's computer after a civilian investigator in Alabama tipped them off last year, Air Force prosecutor Capt. Aaron Maness said.

The investigator was searching for child pornography on peer-to-peer computer networks as part of an investigation and traced the images to Gorman's Internet protocol address.

Military computer forensics experts scouring Gorman's computer hard drive found dozens of images and video clips of boys and girls being raped, molested and tortured.

Some of the victims are suspected of being as young as 3.

Nineteen of the minors in the images were identified as known child abuse victims listed on a national registry.

Gorman, who is assigned to the 726th Air Mobility Squadron, said he downloaded the majority of the files while he was stationed at McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey.

He obtained the images and clips through the free file-sharing service called Frostwire between July 1, 2006, and Jan. 31, 2007.

During the court-martial, he told Col. Gordon Hammock, the military judge, that he did not believe downloading the material was illegal at the time and apologized to the victims.

The aircraft maintainer faced a maximum sentence that included 10 years in prison, but prosecutors argued for three years.

Gorman, a native of Chicago, enlisted in 2004 and is unmarried.

By federal law, Gorman must register as a sex offender.