A Turlock man was sentenced to 30 years in prison on Wednesday for receiving and distributing child pornography, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.
Jeffrey Randall Metcalfe, 47, of Turlock, plead guilty to one count receiving and distributing child pornography in June of this year.
According to court documents, agents had received information that Metcalfe had created 17 accounts on a photo-sharing website. Metcalfe had posted numerous photos and made several comments about his interest in child pornography.
In sentencing, Chief United States District Judge Morrison C. England Jr. referenced the “extremely serious nature of the offense” and said the sentence was necessary to address Metcalfe’s “level of participation in the process” of the sexual exploitation of minors.
Metcalfe knowingly received and distributed more than 600 images of child pornography, some of which were images of violence and prepubescent minors.
A search warrant was served as his residence on Dec. 19, 2013 and investigators found a computer that contained a screensaver with images of children being sexually exploited, as well as thousands of printed and digital images of child pornography.
Metcalfe admitted, in a plea agreement, that between January 2012 and Dec. 1, 2013 he knowingly used a computer and the internet to receive and distribute images of child pornography.
He also admitted that he had suffered a previous conviction in federal court in Fresno for possession of child pornography on Jan. 24, 2000.
Metcalfe has been detained as a danger to the community and flight risk since his initial appearance in federal court on December 23, 2013.
“Tragically, this case is not unusual — it’s all too common for defendants in child sexual exploitation cases to reoffend,” said Michael J. Toms, the acting assistant special agent in charge who oversees HSI Fresno. “That’s why HSI and its law enforcement partners must remain vigilant. It’s the only way to protect our youth and ensure that individuals, like this defendant, are held accountable for their crimes.”
This case was the product of an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, with assistance from the Turlock Police Department.
