A Cartersville man, previously convicted of child sex crimes, has been hit with a decade behind bars for hoarding a "vast quantity" of child sexual abuse images and videos, some involving victims as young as 12 years old.
After a tip-off in July 2023 about a cell phone linked to Jerry Joseph Southern being used to circulate child porn, the feds joined forces with local cops to raid his place. They hit pay dirt when an elusive phone, stashed in an air vent at his residence, turned out to be a sickening treasure trove of the illicit material, as reported by WSB-TV.
The grim discovery led to the 10-year sentence for Southern, who had already done time for similar offenses dating back to 2013. Post-jail, the predator was supposed to keep his nose clean as a registered sex offender, but instead, he flouted probation rules leading to more stints in the slammer in 2014, 2019, and 2020, according to FOX 5 Atlanta.
Beyond the hard time, Southern is also on the hook for a $28,500 restitution tab, and a lifetime of supervised release awaits him once he's out. “Stopping those like Southern that victimize children by viewing and sharing these horrific images of children is one of our highest priorities," said Acting Special Agent in Charge Anthony J. Patrone, overseeing Homeland Security Investigations in Georgia and Alabama, in a statement obtained by WSB-TV.
The perv pled guilty last December, avoiding a trial but landing a surefire ticket back to the big house. The convict's habit of collecting and disseminating disturbing content of abused children has now been curtailed, thanks to the joint efforts of Homeland Security Investigations, the Bartow County Sheriff’s Office, and other supporting agencies, detailed in the reports from both WSB-TV and FOX 5 Atlanta.
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