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Suffolk man sentenced to 12 years behind bars for child pornography

Posted at 5:51 PM, Nov 14, 2018
and last updated 2018-11-14 17:51:05-05

Christopher Howerton. (WTRJ)

SUFFOLK, Va. – A Suffolk man was sentenced Wednesday to 12 years in prison and 20 years of supervised release for receiving images of child pornography.

According to court documents, Christopher Howerton, 33, was identified by both the Virginia Beach Police Department and Southern Virginia Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force as having distributed images of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct from 2016 through 2017 via peer-to-peer file-sharing software.

In December 2017, a federal search warrant was conducted at his residence in Suffolk.

A forensic analysis of Howerton’s electronic media seized during the search warrant revealed numerous images and videos of minors engaging in explicit acts.

He is currently being held at the Western Tidewater Regional Jail.