KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — James Allen Hicks, 37, of Knoxville, Tenn., was sentenced to serve 97 months in prison by the Honorable Harry S. Mattice, Jr., U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Tennessee. The sentence was the result of a guilty plea entered by Hicks in February 2014 to a federal indictment charging him with distributing and possessing child pornography. A forensic examination of Hicks’s computer revealed that he possessed approximately 576 images of child pornography.

As part of the sentence imposed, upon his release from prison Hicks will be on supervised release for a period of five years and for the rest of his life will be required to register as a sex offender wherever he lives, works, or attends school.

U.S. Attorney William C. Killian emphasized the importance of the prosecution of child pornographers. “People who trade child pornography fuel the further exploitation of children. This sentence sends a strong message to those who would prey upon the youngest and most vulnerable members of society that trafficking in images of the exploitation of children will not be tolerated,” said Killian.

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.”