Rogers Man Sentenced to 63 Months in Federal Prison for Child Pornography Offense

            Fayetteville, Arkansas - Kenneth Elser, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas, announced that Donnie Vest, age 61, of Rogers, Arkansas, was sentenced to 63 months imprisonment followed by 10 years of supervised release for Receipt of Child Pornography and ordered to pay a $15,000.00 fine.  The sentencing took place before the Honorable Timothy L. Brooks in the United States District Court in Fayetteville.  

            According to court records, in January, 2014, the Northwest Arkansas Internet Crimes Against Children Taskforce identified an account with a known IP address that was receiving child pornography using a file sharing program.  The IP address returned to Vest’s address located in Rogers.  On or about June 26, 2014, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Vest’s residence, at which time he admitted to downloading and receiving images of child pornography onto his computer. A subsequent forensic examination of the hard drive on his computer revealed multiple images of child pornography.  Vest pleaded guilty to the charge on December 1, 2015.

            This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Internet Crimes Against Children Taskforce.  Assistant United States Attorney Denis Dean prosecuted the case for the United States.

            The case was brought 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 their Criminal Division Child Exploitation and Obscenity Sections (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.projectsafechildhood.gov.

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Related court documents may be found on Public Access to Electronic Records Website @www.Pacer.gov