MACON, Ga. — A Macon man was sentenced to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to distribution of child pornography.
27-year-old Anthony Sparks Brown was sentenced to 240 months in prison and a lifetime of supervision upon release after he assumed the social media identity of a 12-year-old girl. Brown used threats and then forced the girl to produce child sexual abuse material that he sold online.
“Anthony Brown’s ongoing exploitation of a middle schooler came to light thanks to a cyber tip to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. GBI agents tracked down the defendant, freeing the child from his escalating online threats,” said U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary. “This case illustrates that it takes a cross-section of groups to include caring citizens and dedicated law enforcement to stop the online exploitation of children.”
According to court documents, Brown met the girl on Instagram in 2018. Brown told investigators that the 12-year-old Tennessee girl sent him nude images. Brown threatened the girl using a Facebook alias, sending her the images and other sexually explicit photos and stating that “he was sure that she didn’t want her parents to see the images.”
Brown then made a deal with the girl, trading her Facebook login information in exchange for him not distributing the nude photos. The girl gave Brown the login information. He began soliciting sexual images and videos from the girl using threats.
Brown was arrested on July 9, 2019. Brown confessed to threatening the girl to get her Facebook information and chatting with her friends and family. He also confessed to using threats to coerce more sexually exploitative images and videos before selling them.
The GBI investigated the case.
“The GBI will continue to work tirelessly to protect innocent victims. No child should be subject to online exploitation," GBI Director Vic Reynolds said. "As we work with internet service providers and other law enforcement agency partners, we are ensuring that predators like this defendant are held accountable."
Brown will also register as a sex offender for life upon release from prison. There is no parole in the federal system.
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