Jury sentences Jon Russell Whitson to 20 years for promotion of child pornography
WAXAHACHIE, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) - A jury sentenced Jon Russell Whitson, 39, of Waxahachie, to the maximum of twenty years in prison for promotion of child pornography.
"Each image of child sexual abuse represents a real child who was victimized. This child continues to be victimized every time an offender downloads, possesses, and trades these horrendous and vile images. My office will protect our children by prosecuting those who would promote or profit from this trade," Ellis County and District Attorney Ann Montgomery said.
Whitson was also convicted of ten counts of possession of child pornography.
His arrest and subsequent convictions came after Instagram flagged his account and sent a cybertip to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. This after investigators said Whitson posted an image of child pornography and a video on the social media network.
The Waxahachie Police Department received information regarding the cybertip a few weeks later and started an investigation. Instagram disabled the initial account but Whitson created a new one within a month. The Waxahachie Police Department served a search warrant on Whitson's home on August 18, 2020, where investigators seized his phone for subsequent forensic testing.
The Department of Homeland Security Investigations Division conducted the data extraction of Whitson's phone. He allegedly had several images and videos of sexual abuse of children. Only a few of the videos and images were shown to the jury due to their graphic nature.
After Whitson is released from prison, he will be placed on community supervision to serve out the rest of his sentence. He will be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.