A Crossett man was sentenced earlier this week to six years in federal prison, followed by 15 years of supervised release, after pleading guilty to receiving and possessing child pornography.
According to a news release from Duane Kees, the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Arkansas, Ian Mitchell Ashcraft, 28, was sentenced at the U.S. District Court in El Dorado on Tuesday. He pleaded guilty to one count each of receiving child pornography and possession of child pornography in September 2017.
The news release stated that in October 2015 the U.S. Secret Service intercepted an internet protocol address that was downloading images of child pornography from the file sharing program Freenet. The IP address was later tied to Ashcraft’s residence in Crossett.
On Feb. 8, 2016, officers with the Arkansas State Police Cyber Crimes Unit, U.S. Secret Service and Homeland Security Investigations executed a search warrant at Ashcraft’s residence and seized several electronic devices capable of accessing the internet. According to the release, a forensic examination of an external hard drive that was seized from Ashcraft’s bedroom led to numerous images and videos of child pornography.
Ashcraft was indicted in July 2017.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Assistant U.S. attorney Denis Dean prosecuted the case for the United States.