Utah Man Sentenced to 16 Years for Possessing Child Sexual Abuse Material While on Lifetime Supervised Release
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Utah announced that Johnston Blackhorse, 43, of Aneth in San Juan County, Utah, has been sentenced to 16 years in federal prison for receiving and possessing child pornography, also known as child sexual abuse material (CSAM). U.S. District Court Judge Ann Marie McIff Allen also sentenced Blackhorse to a lifetime of supervised release.
Blackhorse had a prior conviction for the same kind of offense: he was convicted in 2015 of possession of child pornography, and at the time of the new offense he was already on lifetime supervised release for that conviction. In April 2026, a jury convicted him of receipt and possession of child pornography.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, in February 2025 two probation officers conducted a home visit where Blackhorse lived alone and, under the conditions of his supervised release, examined his computer. The officers discovered that a forensic wiping program had been installed and used on the computer the day of the visit, and a more thorough examination located files depicting child sexual abuse material in a deleted space. A Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) forensic examiner then examined the computer under a search warrant and found six images of CSAM in the deleted space; an original file path showed the files had existed under Blackhorse's username in his Mozilla Firefox folders and came from child pornography websites. Additional evidence showed he used the computer to access other child pornography files on a separate electronic storage device that was not recovered during the search of his residence.
U.S. Attorney Melissa Holyoak said her office is committed to protecting communities, particularly the most vulnerable, and that Blackhorse's pattern of behavior makes clear he remains a dangerous offender with a significant likelihood of recidivism. Charles Engle, Special Agent in Charge of HSI Denver, said those who possess child sexual abuse material are not passive observers of a horrific crime but are fueling an industry built on the exploitation, abuse and suffering of innocent children.
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Burton and Joseph M. Hood. It was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, the Department of Justice's nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse.
(Source: U.S. Department of Justice)
Source: U.S. Department of Justice
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
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