Johnston City Man Sentenced to 121 Months in Illinois for Distributing Child Sexual Abuse Material
United States Attorney Steven D. Weinhoeft for the Southern District of Illinois announced that Zachary R. Jones, 39, of Johnston City in Williamson County, Illinois, was sentenced in Benton to 121 months' imprisonment after pleading guilty to three counts of distribution of child pornography.
According to court documents and information discussed during hearings, Jones admitted to exchanging child sexual abuse material with others online in June and August 2025. In total, he possessed nearly 70 videos and images of such material. A cyber tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) prompted the investigation into Jones. He attempted to conceal his identity online by using a virtual private network (VPN), but law enforcement was still able to track him down.
U.S. Attorney Weinhoeft said federal agents have tools to defeat VPNs and apps like Kik that are designed to make offenders feel anonymous while they distribute child pornography, and that distributing those images re-victimizes the child every time they are shared. FBI Springfield Field Office Special Agent in Charge Ryan Presley said every image or video shared represents a child whose life has been impacted by exploitation.
Following imprisonment, Jones will serve 10 years of supervised release. The FBI Springfield Field Office led the investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorney David Sanders prosecuted the case.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于 East St. Louis 的美国法院大楼，伊利诺伊州南区联邦地区法院所在地（资料图）。Nyttend 摄，公共领域，经 Wikimedia Commons。Photo: The United States Courthouse in East St. Louis, a seat of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois (file photo). By Nyttend, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
