CHICAGO - A Chicago man who shared dozens of images of child pornography was sentenced today to 15 years in federal prison.
From August 2012 to September 2014, DONALD BOWEN used an electronic file-sharing network to trade the pornographic images with others via the Internet. In September 2014, Bowen granted access to his password-protected folder to an individual with whom he was chatting online. Unbeknownst to Bowen, the individual was actually an undercover law enforcement officer. The officer downloaded 39 images of child pornography from Bowen’s folder. The images viewed by the officer included young children engaging in sexually explicit conduct.
A subsequent forensics search of Bowen’s computer revealed more than 4,000 videos and 6,000 images of child pornography.
Bowen, 54, of Chicago, pleaded guilty last year to one count of transportation of child pornography. Bowen’s prior conviction for a misdemeanor offense related to child abuse triggered the mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years imposed by U.S. District Judge Charles Norgle.
The sentence was announced by Joel R. Levin, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and James M. Gibbons, special agent-in-charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Chicago.
“Defendant used his computer to share images of child pornography with others and, in doing so, continued the cycle of exploitation," Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth R. Pozolo argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum. “The public needs to be protected from individuals like the defendant."
In addition to trading the pornographic images, Bowen admitted in a plea agreement that he possessed images of child pornography on various electronic devices, including a cellular phone and 15 optical discs. Bowen also admitted possessing a three-ring binder with a white cover that contained hundreds of printed photographs depicting child pornography.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
