Pat Allen Potter Sentenced To 25 Years For Exploitation Of A Child And Possession Of Child Pornography

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - On May 8, 2025, Pat Allen Potter, 48, currently of Andersonville, Tennessee, was sentenced to 300 months imprisonment by the Honorable Thomas A. Varlan, United States District Judge, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee at Knoxville. Following Potter's imprisonment, he will be on a lifetime supervised release and will be required to register with state sex offender registries and comply with special sex offender conditions.

As part of the plea agreement filed with the court, Potter agreed to plead guilty to an indictment charging him with, one count of exploitation of a child in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2251(a); and one count of possession of child pornography in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 2252A(a)(5)(B) and 2252A(b)(2).

According to court filed documents, in March of 2024, Knoxville Police Department Internet Crimes Against Children and Homeland Security Investigations began an investigation after receiving a tip that Potter was uploading and storing child pornography (CP) onto a website. During the investigation, a ten -year-old victim was identified who was known to Potter. On March 19, 2024, law enforcement obtained and executed arrest and search warrants for Potter and electronics located at his residence. Forensic examinations were conducted which revealed Potter possessed 20 videos and 38 images of CP. Evidence further revealed that Potter produced CP of the 10-year-old victim and groomed the victim to make CP videos of herself for Potter.

U.S. Attorney Francis M. Hamilton III of the Eastern District of Tennessee and Special Agent in Charge Rana Saoud, Homeland Security Investigations ("HSI") made the announcement.

The criminal indictment was the result of an investigation by the Knoxville Police Department Internet Crimes Against Children (KPD-ICAC) and HSI. The investigation was headed by Detective Johnny Williams, HSI-ICAC task force officer. Also assisting in the prosecution were the Clinton Police Department and the Anderson County Sheriff's Office.

Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Kolman represented the United States.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006, by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney's Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, PSC marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about PSC, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.justice.gov/psc/resources.html and click on the tab "resources."

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