Convicted Sex Offender Sentenced to More Than 17 Years in Federal Prison for Receiving Child Sexual Abuse Material

FAYETTEVILLE – A Springdale man was sentenced today to 212 months in prison without the possibility of parole followed by 25 years of supervised release on two counts of Receipt of Child Pornography. The Honorable Judge Timothy L. Brooks presided over the sentencing hearing in the U.S. District Court in Fayetteville.

According to court documents, in July 2016, the defendant, Richard Blane Gamblin, age 28, was convicted in the Western District of Arkansas, Fayetteville Division, of Receiving Child Pornography via the Internet. He was sentenced to 72 months imprisonment, followed by 10 years supervised release. On October 6, 2021, Gamblin was released from federal prison and began his 10-year term of Court ordered supervised release in the Western District of Arkansas.

On December 7, 2021, U.S. Probation officers did a compliance check on Gamblin’s Springdale residence and discovered he was in possession of a cellular phone. That phone was later turned over to the Department of Homeland Security, who forensically determined that it contained images of Child Sexual Abuse Material. Gamblin was subsequent indicted via Grand Jury on new charges of Receipt and Possession of Child Pornography. On or about August 11. 2022, Gamblin pleaded guilty to two (2) separate counts of Receipt of Child Pornography.

U.S. Attorney David Clay Fowlkes of the Western District of Arkansas made the announcement.

Homeland Security Investigations Fayetteville, and the Northwest Arkansas Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Dustin Roberts prosecuted the case.

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.