RALEIGH - United States Attorney Thomas G. Walker announced today in federal court United States District Judge Terrence W. Boyle, sentenced TIMOTHY JACK STRICKLAND to 151 months imprisonment followed by 5 years supervised release.
On Feb. 18, 2014, a Federal Grand Jury returned a Criminal Indictment charging STRICKLAND. On May 14, 2014, STRICKLAND, pled guilty to receipt of child pornography, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2252(a)(2).
According to the investigation, in March, 2013, while attending training, a Federal Bureau of Investigation Task Force Officer engaged in a chat with STRICKLAND, who it was determined later, was a minister at Jones Grove Pentecostal Church in Mount Olive. During the chat the agent observed that STRICKLAND’s directory contained child pornography files. A search warrant was later executed at STRICKLAND’s residence, where a laptop, several harddrives and other media devices were seized. Computer forensics revealed approximately 124,391 images of child pornography.
The criminal investigation of this case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Wayne County Sheriff’s Office, Duplin County Sheriff’s Office and the Mount Olive Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Ethan A. Ontjes is handling the prosecution on behalf of the Eastern District of North Carolina.
This case was part of the Project Safe Childhood initiative, a national program aimed at ensuring that criminals exploiting children are effectively prosecuted by making full use of all available law enforcement resources at every level. For more information about this important national project, Project Safe Childhood, go to www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
