FRESNO, Calif. — John Perry, 64, of Bakersfield, was sentenced today to 20 years in prison for receiving child pornography, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
According to court documents, in February 2020, Perry was found to have received on a cellphone, as well as on the internet through both the use of an email account as well as cloud data storage, over 1,000 image files depicting minors suffering various acts of sexual abuse. Many of the images depicted prepubescent minors and Perry likewise engaged in a pattern of activity involving the sexual abuse of minors. Perry had prior convictions in the states of Washington and California for committing crimes, including rape of a child, communicating with minors for immoral purposes, and possession of child pornography.
This case was the product of an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian W. Enos prosecuted 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 those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. Click on the “resources” tab for information about internet-safety education.