HINDS COUNTY MAN SENTENCED FOR TWO COUNTS OF ATTEMPTED PRODUCTION OF CHILD SEX ABUSE MATERIAL

Jackson, MS -Joe Lewis, a resident of Hinds County, Mississippi was sentenced to 292 months in federal prison for two counts of Attempted Production of Child Pornography. After release from prison, Lewis will be on supervised release for 10 years and must register as a sex offender.

According to court documents, Joe Lewis, 55, under the pretense of mentoring middle school aged boys, would send money to his victims via Cash App and demand that victims expose their pubic areas to him during FaceTime sessions that Lewis recorded.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation Jackson 's Office ("FBI") was contacted by the Jackson Police Department ("JPD") for assistance in investigating Joe Lewis and identifying other victims. JPD's investigation began when the mother of one of the minors reported to JPD that an older man had being sending her son money via Cash App. The FBI forensically examined Lewis' electronic devices and found that Lewis had also been sending obscene sexually explicit abuse materials to young boys in and around Jackson. During the course of the investigation the FBI Jackson was able to locate other minor victims.

"Those who hurt and endanger our children by committing these despicable crimes will not be tolerated and will be held accountable", said Baxter Kruger, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi. "This lengthy sentence ensures this defendant can never again hurt and abuse children. My office is committed to working with the FBI, Jackson Police Department, and other state and local law enforcement agencies to help protect children."

FBI Special Agent in Charge Rob Eikhoff said, "Those who prey on minors shatter their innocence. Protecting children and holding vile predators, like Joe Lewis, accountable is one of the FBI's highest priorities. FBI Jackson, the United States Attorney's Office and the Jackson Police Department stand together to protect our children and ensure justice is served for all who seek to harm them."

This case was brought as part of a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Glenda R. Haynes prosecuted the case.