Oxford, Miss. – Ronald W. Hale, a former Alderman for the City of Southaven was sentenced Wednesday morning to 85 months imprisonment for transportation of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Mississippi William C. Lamar, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Mississippi Christopher Freeze, and DeSoto County Sheriff Bill Rasco.

Hale pled guilty on April 2, 2018, to knowingly using a means of interstate or foreign commerce to transport or ship a visual depiction involving a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 2252(1)(a).  In sentencing Hale on Wednesday, Chief U.S. District Judge Sharion Aycock also ordered Hale to serve 5 years of supervised release following the term of imprisonment, and to pay $3,500 in restitution to a victim of the crime.

Following the sentencing hearing, U.S. Attorney Lamar noted, “There is sometimes a misconception that child pornography is a victimless crime and that no one is injured by those who merely view or exchange it.  This could not be further from the truth.  Every day, there are children in our country who are victimized and tortured by those individuals who use them to produce, record and distribute graphic sexual images as a means of pleasure or entertainment.  Individuals who choose to view and transport those images provide a market for these unconscionable and illegal acts, and re-victimize those children each time it is shared or viewed.  We must continue to protect these vulnerable child victims by holding accountable those who produce, distribute or view child pornography.”

The case was investigated by the FBI Jackson Division’s Southaven Resident Agency and DeSoto County Sheriff’s Department, with assistance from the Southaven Police Department.  The case was prosecuted by AUSA Paul Roberts in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Mississippi.