“Frickenwierdo” imprisoned for sending child pornography in chat room

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A 47-year-old Corpus Christi man has been sentenced for distributing child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

Jonathan Follis pleaded guilty Feb. 5.

U.S. District Judge David S. Morales has now ordered Follis to serve 228 months in federal prison. At the hearing, the court heard additional information including conversations Follis had with others detailing sexual assaults he committed in the past, including his family members. The court was also provided with numerous impact letters from the victims of the child pornography materials. In handing down the prison terms, the court noted the “horrendous” conduct demonstrated an illness that Follis will be dealing with for the rest of his life. Follis was further ordered to pay $75,000 in restitution to the victims and will serve eight years on supervised release following completion of his prison term. During that time, he will have to comply with numerous requirements designed to restrict his access to children and the internet. Follis will also be ordered to register as a sex offender.

The investigation into Follis began when authorities discovered he was participating in chat rooms involving discussions of child pornography. Follis conducted the majority of these conversations using a cellular phone kept in his office at work.

Law enforcement later conducted a search at that office where they discovered a phone hidden under his keyboard. Follis admitted to using the phone to distribute child pornography.

Law enforcement conducted a forensic analysis of the phone. It confirmed Follis had been engaging in chat rooms discussing child pornography utilizing the username “frickenwierdo.” In addition to those rooms, Follis participated in distributing child pornography in private chats.

The investigation further revealed Follis distributed a video of child pornography April 5, 2023, approximately one month before law enforcement executed the search warrant leading to his arrest.

Follis will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation with assistance of the Corpus Christi Police Department’s Internet Crimes Against Children task force.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patrick Overman and John Marck prosecuted the case, which was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative the Department of Justice (DOJ) launched in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section leads PSC, which marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children and identifies and rescues victims. For more information about PSC, please visit DOJ’s PSC page. For more information about internet safety education, please visit the resources link on that page.