HOUSTON - A 31-year-old Houston man has been sentenced to prison for receipt and possession of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick.

Jonathan Deshon Alexander pleaded guilty Aug. 12, 2019.  

Today, Chief U.S. District Court Judge Lee H. Rosenthal ordered Alexander to serve 84 months in federal prison. In handing down the sentence, the court noted these are agonizing cases which involve real children who have been abused. Judge Rosenthal considered the number of years Alexander had been viewing child pornography, his willingness to get help and what was appropriate in this particular case. 

Alexander had admitted to receiving and possessing child pornography for seven years. The court decided to assess Alexander’s punishment for the same amount of years he made these children victims once more. He will also serve 15 years on supervised release following completion of his prison term, during which time he will have to comply with numerous requirements designed to restrict his access to children and the internet. He will also be ordered to register as a sex offender and must pay restitution to the victims.

In March 2017, law enforcement conducted an online session using a publicly available peer-to-peer file sharing network and located an IP address folder contained videos of child pornography. The IP address was associated with Alexander and his residence.

He admitted to downloading child pornography since approximately 2010.  Forensic analysis found more than 326 videos of child pornography, including some of children under the age of five, bondage and acts of violence.

Previously released on bond, Alexander was permitted to voluntarily surrender to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

The FBI conducted the investigation.  

Assistant U.S. Attorney Zahra Jivani Fenelon prosecuted the case, which was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative the Department of Justice (DOJ) launched in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section leads PSC, which marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children and identifies and rescues victims. For more information about PSC, please visit DOJ’s PSC page. For more information about internet safety education, please visit the resources tab on that page.