A 27-year-old Columbiana man, previously convicted on state charges of sexual abuse, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court to possessing child pornography, U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance announced.
Justin Blake Tidwell entered his plea before U.S. District Judge Sharon Lovelace Blackburn to a one-count information charging that, between July 1 and Aug. 13, Tidwell possessed more than 600 images of child pornography on his computer.
According to the plea agreement, Tidwell can be sentenced to a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison, up to 20 years in prison, because of his prior state convictions. At sentencing, the government will recommend Tidwell be placed on supervised release for the rest of his life. No sentencing date has been set.The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Birmingham Police Department and the Shelby County Sheriff’s Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel J. Fortune is prosecuting the matter on behalf of the United States.
This case was brought as part of the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices nationwide, 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 to identify and rescue victims. For more information about the national Project Safe Childhood initiative, please visit http://www.projectsafechildhood.gov/.
"25% of all sex offenders re-offend within 15 years"
.........Sarah Tofte
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