Timothy Douglas, a 65-year-old resident of Jamestown, New York, has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for possession of child pornography by a person with prior convictions related to sexual abuse involving minors. U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo also ordered Douglas to serve a lifetime of supervised release and mandated that he register as a sex offender.
According to U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo, the case began in August 2023 when employees at a local grocery store found an unattended cell phone near the checkout area. Upon opening the phone to identify its owner, they discovered sexually explicit images of young girls and promptly contacted the Jamestown Police Department. The police then involved the FBI, which assisted in identifying the children depicted in the images.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Maeve E. Huggins explained that forensic analysis revealed images on the phone showing prepubescent minors or children under 12 years old. The investigation determined that between July 2022 and August 2023, Douglas produced images involving three minor children engaged in sexually explicit conduct—one child was five years old while two others were about ten years old. Some of these images were described as sadistic in nature.
Douglas had previously been convicted in New York State in 2003 for offenses including Possessing an Obscene Sexual Performance by a Child less than 16 years old, Sexual Abuse in the First Degree, and Course of Sexual Conduct Against a Child in the Second Degree.
U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo stated: "Timothy Douglas, 65, of Jamestown, NY, who was convicted of possession of child pornography by a person having a prior conviction related to aggravated sexual abuse, sexual abuse, and abusive sexual conduct involving a minor, was sentenced to serve 240 months in prison and lifetime supervised release by U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo."
The sentencing followed an investigation led by the Jamestown Police Department under Chief Timothy Jackson and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Child Exploitation Human Trafficking Task Force directed by Special Agent-in-Charge Philip Tejera.
