Russellville Man Sentenced to 22 Years in Prison for Production of Child Pornography

LITTLE ROCK—Cody Hiland, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, along with Raymond R. Parmer, Jr., Special Agent in Charge of the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New Orleans Field Division, announced today that Carson Arcia, 33, of Russellville, was sentenced to 22 years in federal prison for production of child pornography.

United States District Court Judge D. Price Marshall, Jr., sentenced Arcia on Wednesday following an investigation that revealed Arcia had produced child pornography of an infant girl. Judge Marshall also ordered that Arcia remain on supervised release for the rest of his life.

The investigation began on May 11, 2015, when HSI agents discovered images of child pornography being shared on the internet through a photo-sharing website. Agents were able to trace those images to Arcia and obtained a search warrant for his home.

On July 23, 2015, agents conducted a search of Arcia’s home. Arcia admitted to using the internet to download child pornography, and he told agents he was in possession of over one thousand images and videos of child pornography. Agents collected three laptop computers, four hard drives, and a number of other electronic devices. Forensic examination of those devices revealed more than 1800 still photos and more than 600 videos of child pornography.

Among those videos, agents discovered that some of them had been created by Arcia himself. The videos show a progression of deviant sexual behavior. Initially, Arcia went to stores, laundromats, and other locations, where he would sneak up behind women and film up their skirts. He later began masturbating at these locations, and filmed his actions.

More recent videos on his computer included Arcia approaching children in public locations. Arcia would stand near children while the children were in shopping carts or standing with their parents. He would put his penis in front of the children’s faces and film their reaction.

Several videos depicted two young girls, approximately two to three years old. Arcia videoed himself holding candy in his hand to entice a little girl, and then putting his penis in his hand next to the candy. The image that Arcia pleaded guilty to producing was a video of himself with a female baby, described as an infant, on a changing table. Arcia pushed the baby’s diaper to the side, focused his camera on the area exposed, and masturbated next to the baby, touching her leg with his penis.

Arcia was indicted on August 1, 2017, in a three-count indictment charging him with production of child pornography, receipt and distribution of child pornography, and possession of child pornography. On April 30, 2018, Arcia pleaded guilty to production of child pornography.

There is no parole in the federal system. When Arcia is released upon completion of his 22-year sentence, he will remain on supervised release for the rest of his life. Conditions of his supervised release include registering as a sex offender and having no contact with minors.

The case was investigated by HSI and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Allison Bragg.

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This news release, as well as additional information about the office of the
United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, is available on-line at

http://www.justice.gov/edar

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