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Man sentenced for possessing 13,000 images of child pornography

Posted By: Trussville Tribune staffon: January 12, 2018In: Metro/State/Nation

From The Trussville Tribune staff reports

HUNTSVILLE — A federal judge this week sentenced a Sheffield man to more than 11 years in prison for possessing child pornography, including images of infants and toddlers being raped, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town.

U.S. District Judge R. David Proctor sentenced Christopher Joseph Boerckel, 27, of Sheffield, to 11 years and three months in prison, followed by 20 years of supervised release. Boerckel pleaded guilty in September to possessing more than 13,000 images of child pornography on his computer and computer hard drives. He must report to prison Feb. 7.

“This defendant possessed thousands of horrific images of adults forcing sex acts on children and babies, innocents completely unable to defend themselves,” Town said. “Anyone possessing these images ensures that those children continue to be victimized. Judge Proctor’s sentence rightfully reflects the severity of this case and our efforts reflect our pledge to fully prosecute these atrocious behaviors.”

Law enforcement seized computers and hard drives during searches of Boerckel’s home in March 2015, according to his plea agreement. An Alabama Department of Revenue review of Boerckel’s computer hard drives showed that hundreds of the images were stored on a drop box saved to “the cloud,” so investigators could not determine if the images had been accessed in Lauderdale County or Colbert County.

Further FBI analysis of Boerckel’s electronic equipment identified the 13,183 images of child pornography, according to the plea agreement.

The FBI, Alabama Department of Revenue and the Florence Police Department investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Keim prosecuted.