Paducah, KY – Dayton Jones, 27, was sentenced this week to 96 months in prison followed by 15 years of supervised release for production of child pornography. There is no parole in the federal system. Jones was also ordered to pay $50,000 in restitution to the victim and he will be required to register as a sex offender upon his release from custody.
According to court documents, on October 11, 2014, a group of high school and college students got together at a friend’s apartment. The students, almost all of whom were under the age of 21, consumed significant amounts of alcohol. A fifteen-year-old boy (John Doe), passed out from alcohol intoxication. When John Doe passed out, several other males took turns sexually assaulting him with a sex toy. Jones made an audio and video recording of the assault which he then distributed to others via the social media application “Snapchat.”
“I commend the Louisville FBI, the Christian County Sheriff’s Office, and the Assistant U.S. Attorneys who prosecuted this case for their outstanding effort,” said Michael A. Bennett, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky. “We will continue to prioritize the prosecution of child sexual exploitation and abuse in order to make our communities throughout the 53 counties of the Western District safer for all citizens.”
“This case highlights how those that choose to exploit our most vulnerable will be found and held accountable to the fullest degree under the rule of law. Removing child predators from our streets will remain one of the highest priorities for the FBI,” said Special Agent in Charge Jodi Cohen of the FBI’s Louisville Field Office. “If you are engaging in these heinous acts, know that the possibility of decades in federal prison with no parole is in your future.”
Assistant United States Attorneys Jo E. Lawless and Seth Hancock prosecuted the case. The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Louisville Field Office and the Christian County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”
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