A Greenfield man will spend 25 years in federal prison after admitting he secretly recorded minors with a hidden "spy camera" inside his home, according to federal filings. The judgment, handed down this week, includes 300 months behind bars followed by five years of supervised release.
According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Tennessee, 59-year-old James Anthony Morris pleaded guilty on April 1 to employing and using a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing a visual depiction in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2251. Prosecutors say Morris set up a hidden camera in a bedroom at his Greenfield residence and secretly recorded multiple minors while they were nude and changing clothes, then distributed some of the material to another person through the Quora social-media application. Senior U.S. District Judge J. Daniel Breen imposed the sentence on July 22, 2026.
"Production of child pornography is a disturbing crime that endangers and harms real child victims," U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant said in a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Tennessee. Homeland Security Investigations' acting special agent in charge Michael Perez and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Director David Rausch also issued statements praising investigators and pledging continued enforcement efforts against child predators.
Investigation and Prosecution
The case drew in a network of local, state and federal agencies, including the Greenfield Police Department, the Martin Police Department, the District Attorney’s Office for the 27th Judicial District, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and Homeland Security Investigations, as reported by WBBJ. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Caroline Parish and Josh Morrow prosecuted the case on behalf of the federal government. Dunavant formally announced the sentence in federal court in the Western District of Tennessee.
What the Sentence Means
Once Morris finishes his prison time, he will have to comply with the federal Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), which requires registration and sets national standards for community notification. Guidance on those requirements is available from the SMART Office at the U.S. Department of Justice. Because the federal system does not provide parole for offenses committed after 1987, Morris will generally serve the bulk of his 300-month term before transitioning to supervised release. The registration and supervision rules are designed to both notify communities and monitor high-risk offenders after they leave prison.
Statewide Context
The Morris sentence comes on the heels of other recent federal child sexual exploitation cases in Tennessee. Hoodline previously covered a Millington man sentenced to 15 years and a former FBI technician sentenced in similar federal prosecutions. Like Morris's case, those investigations relied on coordinated work by federal Internet Crimes Against Children task forces and local police departments.
Authorities urged anyone with information about the Morris case or related concerns to contact local law enforcement or federal investigators. Court records show the sentence was formally entered July 22 in the Western District of Tennessee.
