A Placer County man has received a lengthy prison sentence for child exploitation charges. Paul Hughes, 42, from the town of Colfax, was sentenced on Thursday to 24 years and four months behind bars after being convicted of creating and possessing sexually explicit images of minors, as announced by Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith. The sentence comes following incidents occurring between September 2018 and June 2019, where Hughes used his cellphone to record, and later save the material on an external hard drive and Google account, as per the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Hughes's activities included making at least three videos of minors without their knowledge or consent, and the stash on his hard drive exceeded 3,000 images and videos of child sexual abuse material, according to court documents. Additionally, on Hughes’ devices, agents discovered hundreds of videos and photographs of unknowing females, aged from five to 55, which were taken surreptitiously in public places around Colfax. The images were angled to capture intimate parts of the victims' bodies without their consent.
“This defendant preyed on the most innocent and vulnerable members of our society—children,” Acting U.S. Attorney Beckwith stated in a press release. The U.S. Attorney's Office emphasizes the protection of children from sexual exploitation as a fundamental mission, promising to employ all available means to bring such offenders to justice. The FBI supported this sentiment, with FBI Sacramento Special Agent in Charge Sid Patel saying, "Paul Hughes exploited children, forever damaging the memories of their childhood," and underlined the agency's zero-tolerance policy towards adults who exploit children.
The case is a result of Project Safe Childhood's ongoing efforts, a Department of Justice initiative that aims to fight child sexual exploitation and abuse across the country. For more details on the initiative, the public can visit www.usdoj.gov/psc, where information on internet safety education is also provided. The case against Hughes was developed through an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, along with assistance from the Placer County Sheriff’s Office, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Denise N. Yasinow.
