A Columbia County man has been sentenced to 102 months in federal prison for possessing images of children being sexually exploited, the U.S. attorney’s office announced Wednesday, Oct. 12, in a news release.
Mark Christopher Greene, 46, of Appling, pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography, U.S. Attorney David H. Estes said in the release. U.S. District Court Chief Judge J. Randal Hall also ordered Greene to pay $18,000 in restitution, to serve 15 years of supervised release, and register as a sex offender after he completes his prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
The investigation of Greene began in December 2019 when the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received a cyber tip that identified images of child pornography. Armed with a search warrant, agents from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation seized electronic devices from Greene’s Appling residence and discovered dozens of images and videos of child exploitation on those devices, according to the news release.
The case was investigated by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeremiah L. Johnson and Assistant U.S. Attorney and Project Safe Childhood Coordinator Tara M. Lyons.
