NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A man, who was the former Lieutenant for the Newport News Fire Department, has been sentenced to over three decades in prison on charges of receiving child pornography, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia
Court documents state that in February of 2022, the man, Christopher Jones, 43, went online to “entice and coerce a minor to engage in sexual activity.”
WATCH: Former Newport News Fire Department Lieutenant arrested, charged with attempted child rape
While investigating, the FBI uncovered other underage victims who may have also been Jones’ victims. The children were forensically interviewed, and three of them said they had sexually explicit contact with Jones, according to the office.
One of the minors said Jones engaged in both physical and sexual conduct with them over the course of nine months, which included “inappropriate sexual contact” and exchanging sexually explicit images, according to the office.
Jones’ actions were confirmed by searches of his devices and accounts, the office says.
The office added that in July of 2022, Jones traveled to meet with who he thought was a 12-year-old, but was actually an undercover person posing as a minor.
On May 18, Jones pleaded guilty to the following, according to the office: receiving child pornography of his victim and using a communication facility to knowingly persuade, induce, entice, and coerce a minor to engage in sexual activity.
On September 20, the office shared that Jones was sentenced to 33 years in prison for coercion and enticement of a child and receipt of child sexual abuse material.
Investigations
2 child sextortion cases in Hampton Roads under investigation
The case was part of Project Safe Childhood – an initiative spearheaded by the Department of Justice in response to the increase in child sexual exploitation and abuse.
