A Pascagoula man has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for distributing images of minors involved in sexually explicit conduct. Tyrone Lewis, aged 20, was found guilty after court documents revealed he had sexual contact with a 14-year-old in Jackson County, Mississippi. He recorded some of these acts on a cell phone and sent videos to the victim. The investigation uncovered text messages confirming Lewis's awareness that the victim was a minor.
In July 2024, Lewis pled guilty to the charges against him. The announcement was made by Acting U.S. Attorney Patrick A. Lemon of the Southern District of Mississippi and Special Agent in Charge Eric DeLaune of Homeland Security Investigations.
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Harrison County Sheriff’s Office, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Lee Smith prosecuting.
This prosecution is part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 to address child sexual exploitation and abuse. The project aims to use federal, state, and local resources to apprehend individuals exploiting children online and rescue victims.
For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
