On January 3, 2018, Mark Carlton Bryant, 66, of Estill Springs, Tennessee, was sentenced by the Honorable Judge Curtis L. Collier, Senior U.S. District Court Judge, to serve 51 months in federal prison for possession of child pornography. Additionally, Bryant was ordered to pay a $25,000 fine, $5,000 in restitution, and forfeit electronic equipment used in the commission of his crimes. Upon his release from prison, U.S. Probation will supervise him for five years.

Bryant, a retired Lieutenant Colonel from the U.S. Air Force, previously pleaded guilty to a one-count information charging him with possession of child pornography.

U.S. Attorney J. Douglas Overbey said, "This case is a good example of local and federal agencies working together to protect children, our most vulnerable victims. The U.S. Attorney's office will continue to prosecute aggressively individuals who choose to possess and distribute child pornography."

Agencies involved in this investigation included the Winchester Police Department and the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney James. T. Brooks represented the United States.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.

For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.