Siloam Springs man sentenced on child pornography charge

(From the U. S. Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas)

David Clay Fowlkes, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas, announced today that Jon Anderson, age 44, of Siloam Springs, Arkansas, was sentenced today to 87 months in federal prison without the possibility of parole followed by 20 years of supervised release on one count of Accessing the Internet with the Intent to View Child Pornography. The Honorable Judge Timothy L. Brooks, United States District Judge, presided over the sentencing hearing in the United States District Court in Fayetteville.

According to court records, in May 2019, the Cyber Crimes Division of the Benton County Sheriff’s Office received information that a residence in Northwest Arkansas was downloading images of child pornography. 

On July 31, 2019, detectives with the Benton County Sheriff’s Office traveled to the residence in Siloam Springs, and encountered Anderson. During that interaction detectives found evidence of child pornography on the devices in the home. On or about August 1, 2019, Anderson was arrested. 

 

Anderson was indicted in January of 2020 and was convicted after a trial in Fayetteville in October 2020.

This case was investigated by the Benton County Sheriff’s Office and the Department of Justice-Office of Inspector General. Assistant United States Attorneys Carly Marshall and Dustin Roberts prosecuted the case for the United States.

This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, 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 Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.