On January 26th, 2016, Investigators with the Knoxville Police Department Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force executed a search warrant at the residence of Emil J Ford after it was discovered he had been distributing and possessing images of child pornography.

A preliminary forensic examination of one of the devices seized from the address revealed (771) seven hundred seventy one images containing child pornography/ child erotica as well as (3) three videos containing child pornography/ child erotica.

On March 23, 2016 a Knox County Grand Jury returned a true bill in this case, charging Mr. Ford with (1) one count of Aggravated Sexual Exploitation of a Minor and (7) seven counts of Sexual Exploitation of a Minor.

On March 24, 2016 Mr. Ford was taken into custody where he remained in custody at the Roger D. Wilson Detention Facility on a $250,000 bond.

On December 2, 2016, the Prosecutors in DA Charme Allen’s Child Abuse Unit obtained multiple convictions as Mr. Ford plead guilty-as-charged in Knox County Division I Criminal Court. As part of the agreement, the Honorable Judge Steven Sword sentenced Mr. Ford to ten years in prison at 100%.

Mr. Ford will also be required to register as a sex offender once he is released from prison.