Registered Sex Offender Sentenced to 27 Years in Federal Prison for Child Pornography

            Fort Smith, Arkansas – Kenneth Elser, United States Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas, announced that James Robert Loper, age 42, of Greenwood, Arkansas, was sentenced today to 324 months in federal prison on one count of Receipt of Child Pornography and 240 months in federal prison on one count of Possession of Child Pornography. The sentences are to run concurrent with each other and Loper was sentenced to a lifetime term of supervised release. The Honorable Chief Judge P. K. Holmes, III presided over the sentencing hearing in the United States District Court in Fort Smith.

            According to court records, on August 13, 2016, the Northwest Arkansas Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force received a cyber-tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children about an individual in the Fort Smith area who was uploading known images of child pornography to a Twitter account. Through the cell phone provider, agents were able to identify the phone number as being associated with James Robert Loper, a convicted sex offender. On September 15, 2016, law enforcement officers along with federal probation officers executed a search of Loper’s residence. At that time, he admitted to using the Twitter account to receive images and videos of child pornography and to being in possession of three cell phones containing child pornography. Loper also shared sexually explicit images with a 16-year-old girl using Twitter. A forensic examination revealed the phones to contain over 200 images and 30 videos of child pornography. One of the videos depicted sexually explicit conduct involving female children under the age of three-years-old. Loper had previously been convicted of Possession of Child Pornography and was on federal supervision when the offenses were committed. Loper was named in a federal indictment in October, 2016 and pleaded guilty in November, 2016.

            “Identifying and arresting sexual predators remains a top priority for HSI,” said Raymond R. Parmer, Jr. “HSI appreciates the teamwork of the Greenwood Police Department and the U.S. Probation and Parole, along with our other law enforcement partners, in ensuring this multiple offender was brought to justice.” Parmer is the Special Agent in Charge of the New Orleans field office with responsibility for Arkansas, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee.

            This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, Greenwood Police Department, Arkansas Probation and Parole, and the Northwest Arkansas Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. Assistant United States Attorney Denis Dean prosecuted the case for the United States.

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Related court documents may be found on the Public Access to Electronic Records website @ www.pacer.gov