Wis. Man Sentenced To 13 Years In Prison For Child Porn
MADISON, Wis. (WCCO) -- A 41-year-old Wisconsin man has been sentenced to prison for distributing images of child pornography on the Internet, the United States Attorney's Office announced.
In U.S. District Court Thursday, Jeff Matheson of Balsam Lake was sentenced to 13 years in prison followed by supervised release for life. He pleaded guilty to the charge on Feb. 23, 2012.
According to court record, an FBI agent used an undercover computer in Plano, Texas and discovered a user sharing child porn on a peer-to-peer file sharing program. The agent was able to download 399 files in 20 minutes from the user.
Using special software, the agent was able to capture the user's IP address, which came back to a subscriber in Balsam Lake, Wis. identified as Matheson's residence.
When the FBI obtained a search warrant and executed the warrant at Matheson's residence, agents found a computer on the table in the dining room. An analysis of the computer discovered multiple files of child porn.
In an interview at the residence, Matheson admitted to using the peer-to-peer software to find photos of children, adding that he liked nude photos and movies of girls under 12 years old. He said he would then make all of his photos and movies available for sharing using the peer-to-peer software.
While imposing the sentence, U.S. District Judge William Conley said that Matheson posed a very significant danger to the community. Conley noted that Matheson has had sexual contact with a girl between the ages of 4 and 5, where he let her touch his genitals, because he wanted to know what it felt like to be touched there by a child. Matheson only admitted to this after failing a polygraph.
