David Clay Fowlkes, U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas
A man from Eureka Springs has been sentenced to more than 16 years in federal prison for distributing child pornography. Seth Alexander Burns, 24, received a sentence of 196 months in prison and will be subject to 25 years of supervised release. The sentencing was handed down by Judge Timothy L. Brooks in the U.S. District Court in Fayetteville.
Court records indicate that Burns used an online social media platform to share child pornography with multiple users. The case began when the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children submitted a CyberTip to a Homeland Security Investigations taskforce officer. During interviews with investigators, Burns admitted he had created several social media accounts to distribute and receive child pornography files, including those depicting pre-pubescent children.
Burns was indicted by a Grand Jury in the Western District of Arkansas in November 2024 and pleaded guilty in February 2025.
U.S. Attorney Clay Fowlkes of the Western District of Arkansas announced the sentence.
The investigation involved Homeland Security Investigations Fayetteville as well as police departments from Eureka Springs, Harrison, Springdale, Berryville, and Fayetteville.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Devon Still prosecuted the case for the United States.
According to officials, this prosecution is part of Project Safe Childhood, a Department of Justice initiative launched in May 2006 that coordinates federal, state, and local resources to investigate and prosecute those who exploit children through the internet and to identify victims. More information about Project Safe Childhood can be found at www.justice.gov/psc.
