Press Release
Salina Man Sentenced To 15 Years For Distributing Child Pornography
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Kansas
WICHITA, KAN. – A Salina man has been sentenced to 180 months in federal prison for receiving and distributing child pornography, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said today.
Justin S. Tatum, 32, Salina, Kan., was sentenced Monday in U.S. District Court in Wichita. He pleaded guilty to three counts of distributing child pornography, related to two different investigations. In his plea, Tatum admitted sending images of child pornography to Jeffrey Wiederholt in exchange for child pornography that Wiederholt produced. Tatum sent a video of an adult male pulling a diaper off a girl no more than three years of age to expose her genitals to the camera. He also sent a video of an adult male sexually abusing a girl no more than five years old. The investigation began in 2011 when Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents acted on a lead related to Wiederholt, uncovering emails between Tatum and Wiederholt.
Wiederholt was charged and convicted in U.S. District Court in the Western District of Missouri. He was sentenced to 70 years.
Tatum also admitted to using an encrypted peer-to-peer program to trade child pornography with individuals he met on the Internet. An investigation into these activities began in July 2011 when a detective with the Sheriff’s Department in Martin County, Florida, downloaded images of child pornography from Tatum on July 15 and 18, 2011. On Aug. 10, 2011, officers of the Salina Police Department executed a search warrant at Tatum’s home in Salina.
Grissom commended Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Martin County, Fla., Sheriff’s Department, the Salina Police Department and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Hart for their work on the case.
Updated December 15, 2014
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