Credit: U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Mississippi
A Brandon man was sentenced to 195 months in federal prison followed by a lifetime of supervised release for attempted production of child pornography and possession of child pornography, announced United States Attorney Darren J. LaMarca and Special Agent in Charge Jermicha Fomby of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Michael E. Patton, 36, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Jackson. In addition to his term of imprisonment, Patton was ordered to pay $30,000 in court assessments. He will also be required to register as a sex offender.
According to court records, on June 29, 2021, agents with the Jackson FBI received information that Michael E. Patton was producing images of child pornography in Brandon, Mississippi. On March 4, 2022, FBI agents arrested Patton and found several images of child pornography on his cellular telephone. Patton had actively been uploading and sharing images of child pornography via the internet to receive more images. Patton was indicted by a federal grand jury on June 22, 2022. He pled guilty on March 13, 2023, to attempted production of child pornography and possession of child pornography.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case. Assistant United States Attorney Glenda R. Haynes prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov
