A former U.S. Air Force airman has been sentenced to seven years in prison for possession of child sexual abuse images.
Jacob Christian Butler, 33, of Augusta, was sentenced to 84 months in prison after pleading guilty to possession of child pornography, said Jill E. Steinberg, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia.
U.S. District Court Judge J. Randal Hall ordered Butler to register as a sex offender and to serve 15 years of supervised release upon completion of his prison term.
While Judge Hall determined restitution is owed to victims identified in the images, he agreed to delay the final determination of restitution pending further investigation.
“Possessing child pornography perpetuates the victimization of child sexual abuse survivors,” Steinberg said.
As described in court documents and testimony, Butler was a U.S. Air Force Airman First Class assigned to Fort Eisenhower with a high level of security clearance.
A security system at a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility detected a prohibited cellular device in Butler’s possession when he entered the facility, and security personnel seized the phone.
Investigators searched the device and found multiple images of child sexual abuse. Additional devices containing hundreds of similar images and videos later were found during a search of Butler’s residence.
The case was investigated by the FBI and the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office, and prosecuted by the United States by Southern District of Georgia Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason W. Blanchard and the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Counsel.
