Pinal County Man Receives 24 Years for Producing Child Pornography

PHOENIX — A Pinal County resident was sentenced to 24 years in federal prison on May 5 2026 after pleading guilty to producing child pornography that involved a 14-year-old girl.

The defendant faces 24 years of incarceration followed by a lifetime of supervised release. The sentence was issued in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona, per a Department of Justice announcement dated May 12 2026.

The scope of the offense centers on the production of explicit images and videos of one identified minor victim. Federal law sets a statutory minimum of 15 years and a maximum of 30 years for production of child pornography under 18 U.S.C. § 2251(a). The final term falls between those bounds after the court considered the plea agreement and victim impact.

The sentence changes the defendant's status from pretrial release or detention to immediate incarceration at a Bureau of Prisons facility. Upon completion of the prison term the defendant must register as a sex offender under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act and comply with lifetime supervised release conditions that include restrictions on internet use, proximity to minors and mandatory counseling.

Restitution to the victim must also be paid.

Downstream the conviction requires the Justice Department to maintain the case record in the national sex-offender database. The victim gains eligibility for assistance through the Crime Victims Fund and can pursue civil remedies under 18 U.S.C. § 2255.

Federal probation officers will monitor compliance for decades after release and any violation triggers immediate re-incarceration proceedings. The ruling also obligates the court to destroy or seal all contraband material seized during the investigation.

This case is one of multiple federal child pornography production prosecutions handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona in the past year. The Department of Justice has pursued such cases under priorities established after the 2006 Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act which increased mandatory minimums for production offenses.