Memphis, TN – A federal jury has returned a guilty verdict in the case of Jarrod Sanford, a previously-convicted sex offender accused of child pornography offenses. Sanford, 43, of Covington, was found guilty of production of child pornography, possession of child pornography, and committing a felony offense against a minor while required to register as a sex offender. The announcement was made by Kevin G. Ritz, United States Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee.
According to trial information, between July and November of 2023, Sanford used a cell phone to photograph himself raping a 13-year-old child. On November 19, 2023, deputies from the Tipton County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of a child rape and recovered a phone from Sanford’s residence. Agents from the FBI Violent Crimes Against Children Task Force bypassed the phone’s encryption and found photographs of a prior rape of the child. DNA evidence confirmed Sanford’s involvement in the November incident. At the time, Sanford was on federal supervised release and registered on the Tennessee sex offender registry.
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A federal grand jury indicted Sanford for the child pornography and registry offenses in February 2024. On July 25, 2024, after a four-day trial, federal jurors convicted Sanford of all charges.
Sanford now faces a sentence of 35 to 70 years imprisonment, with an additional sentence of up to five years for violating his supervised release. A sentencing hearing is scheduled before United States District Court Judge Thomas L. Parker on October 31, 2024. Federal sentencing does not include the possibility of parole.
The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Probation Office for the Western District of Tennessee, and the Tipton County Sheriff’s Office. United States Attorney Kevin Ritz expressed gratitude towards Assistant United States Attorneys Lauren Delery and Lynn Crum, as well as the law enforcement partners involved in the investigation.
For more information, please contact the Media Relations Team at USATNW.Media@usdoj.gov. Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office on Facebook or on X at @WDTNNews for office news and updates.
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