BIRMINGHAM – A federal judge yesterday sentenced a Center Point man to 50 years in prison for producing child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town and FBI Special Agent in Charge Johnnie Sharp, Jr.

U.S. District Judge Annemarie Axon sentenced DENNIS JAMES HUDSON JR., 28, also known as D.J. Zygi Hudson, Zygi Hudson, Tyler Johnson and Brandon McDaniels, on 5 counts of producing child pornography and one count of distributing child pornography.  Hudson pled guilty in January 2019, for persuading persons under the age of 18 to engage in sexually explicit conduct and transmit images of that conduct over the internet, and to distributing child pornography using the internet and a file-sharing website. 

“A long prison sentence is well-deserved for this defendant,” Town said.  “We commend the FBI and ALEA for their work to diligently monitor the internet using every available resource to catch yet another child predator.  He will now spend the next 50 years gazing at prison bars instead of a computer screen.” 

“Hudson deserves every day of this sentence, as he used the internet for his own perverse behavior,” Sharp said. “Let this be a reminder to all parents to monitor your children's internet use. Know who they are communicating with and promptly report anything suspicious.”

FBI investigated the case, along with the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Manu Balachandran and Leann White.   

BIRMINGHAM – A federal grand jury on Wednesday indicted a Center Point man on multiple counts of producing child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Jay Town and FBI Special Agent in Charge Johnnie Sharp Jr.

An 11-count indictment filed in U.S. District Court charges DENNIS JAMES HUDSON JR., 28, also known as D.J. Zygi Hudson, Zygi Hudson, Tyler Johnson and Brandon McDaniels, with 10 counts of persuading a person under the age of 18 to engage in sexually explicit conduct to produce an image of that conduct and transmit it over the internet. Hudson is charged with inducing 10 different children to perform such acts between August 2016 and August 2017, according to the indictment. Hudson also faces one count of distributing child pornography between January 2015 and January 2016 using the internet and a file-sharing website.

“The internet and social media makes it easy for disgusting, sexual predators to find and exploit our children,” Town said. “Our law enforcement will continue to vigilantly monitor the internet using every method available to us in order to uncover signs of child exploitation and abuse so that the predators can be arrested by federal law enforcement, indicted by a federal grand jury, prosecuted in a federal court, and, once convicted, sentenced to time in a federal prison,” he said. “Our law enforcement cannot do it all, so it is incumbent upon parents to protect their children by responsibly monitoring their children’s activity on the internet, where there is little left to the imagination.”

The penalty for producing child pornography is 15 to 30 years in prison and a maximum $250,000 fine. The penalty for distributing child pornography is five to 20 years in prison and a maximum $250,000 fine.

The FBI investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorneys Manu K. Balachandran and Leann White are prosecuting.

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