Man sentenced to 60-year term for child porn

Groomes
Groomes

A Hot Springs man was sentenced to 60 years in prison Tuesday evening after being convicted of 20 felony counts involving child pornography after a one-day trial in Garland County Circuit Court.

An eight-woman, four-man jury deliberated for only 10 minutes before finding Gerald Lee Groomes, 46, guilty of the 20 counts of distributing, possessing or viewing of matter depicting child sex, each punishable by up to 10 years in prison, and deliberated for one hour and 20 minutes before recommending a sentence of three years in prison on each count, to run consecutively, for a total of 60 years.

Groomes, who lists a Quapaw Avenue address, was arrested March 23, 2017, and originally charged with 30 counts. He was released on $105,000 bond on May 12, 2017, and pleaded not guilty to the charges on June 5, 2017. At a pretrial hearing held Monday, Judge John Homer Wright ruled to proceed with trial on 20 of the counts.

Garland County Public Defender Tim Beckham, who represented Groomes, said Wednesday Groomes testified during the sentencing portion that he "wanted to seek treatment in the past for his addiction to pornography, but over time it had escalated like any addiction does."

The fear of prosecution and the limited availability of professionals trained in sex addiction recovery and treatment "were issues he came across when seeking help," Beckham said.

William Martin Jones, the special deputy prosecutor with the Cybercrimes Unit at the Arkansas attorney general's office, who represented the state, had noted in his closing arguments that Groomes only talked about seeking treatment after he was arrested and charged.

"Many times that's what has to happen for someone to face their addiction," Beckham said. "They have to hit rock bottom and Mr. Groomes hit rock bottom."

According to the probable cause affidavit, on March 13, 2017, special agents with the attorney general's Special Investigation Division executed a search warrant on Groomes' apartment and while conducting an on-site preview of his electronic devices located child exploitation material in his possession.

Special Agent Drew Evans, who prepared the search warrant and arrest affidavit, has been specifically investigating crimes involving the use of computers since 2012 and received specialized training in the field of internet crimes, with a focus on Internet Crimes Against Children, the affidavit states.

Between Oct. 5, 2016, and Jan. 8, 2017, the agents used software to locate computers sharing files of known child exploitation material and located a computer offering to participate in the distribution of such material in Arkansas.

Using the same software, agents established a direct connection with a computer at a specific IP address and successfully obtained partial and completed downloads of approximately 280 files containing child sexual exploitation material and child erotica that the computer was making publicly available.

One series involved a compilation of four different girls, all of whom were around 10 to 12 years old, in different stages of undress and nudity. A second series involved images of two teenage girls, around 14 to 16 years old, who were exposed and "in different sexually explicit positions."

A third series involved photos of a young girl, 6 to 7 years old, dressed in a rabbit costume and "photographed in different nude positions" with exposed areas as the "focal point of the image."

On Jan. 11, 2017, Evans served a subpoena on AT&T after it was determined they were the owner of the IP address to obtain subscriber information. On Jan. 16, AT&T provided the information indicating the IP address was assigned to Groomes at his Quapaw Avenue residence.

On March 1, 2017, agents made contact with the occupant of the apartment while gathering intelligence about the building and he identified himself as Gerald Lee Groomes and stated he had lived in the apartment since 2011 and confirmed he lived alone.

On March 19, using the same software as the previous downloads, agents established another direct connection to the computer at the IP address which was "continuing to participate in the sharing of child sexual exploitation material," the affidavit states.

The next day, Evans served an additional warrant to AT&T to confirm the subscriber and assignment information for the IP address from 4:39 a.m. to 6:41 a.m. that day.

Based on all the information and evidence collected, a search warrant was issued and signed by Garland County District Court Judge Meredith Switzer Rebsamen.

Local on 05/10/2018

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