KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – On August 21, 2024, Ronnie Joe Maples, 47, from Sevierville, Tennessee, was sentenced to 151 months in prison by United States District Judge Thomas A. Varlan at the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee in Knoxville. Following his incarceration, Maples will be subject to lifetime supervised release, required to register with state sex offender registries, and must comply with special sex offender conditions.
Maples pled guilty to one count of receipt of child pornography in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252A(a)(2) as part of a plea agreement filed with the court.
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Court documents reveal that Maples and another individual discussed molesting children and producing child pornography online. During these discussions, Maples received child pornography from this individual. In November 2022, the individual began cooperating with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the United States Secret Service (USSS). Law enforcement then obtained a search warrant for Maples’ Facebook account and cellular phone, confirming the receipt of child pornography.
The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney of the Eastern District of Tennessee, Francis M. Hamilton III, and FBI Special Agent in Charge, Joseph E. Carrico.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI and the USSS, with Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Kolman representing the United States.
This case was part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, PSC utilizes federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about PSC, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.justice.gov/psc/resources.html and click on the tab “resources.
Source: Read Original Release
Clarksville Man Indicted for Robbery and Weapons
Kenneth Moore, a 45-year-old from Clarksville, Tennessee, has been indicted on charges including robbery, brandishing a weapon, and firearm possession by a felon, following allegations of multiple violent crimes against women between October 2023 and February 2024.