A Hot Springs Village man was sentenced to 20 years in prison Monday after pleading guilty to four felony counts involving child pornography stemming from his arrest in 2019.
Daniel Allen Kimball, 56, who has remained in custody since his arrest Dec. 3, 2019, pleaded guilty in Garland County Circuit Court to four counts of distributing, possessing or viewing of matter depicting sexually explicit conduct involving a child, each punishable by up to 10 years in prison, while 26 additional counts of the same charge were withdrawn.
Kimball was sentenced to five years in prison on each of the four counts, to run consecutively, for a total of 20 years in prison.
He will be given credit for time served which also expunged any court costs, but he will have to register as a sex offender from now on after his release.
"Protecting our children from predators is the single most important duty I have as attorney general," Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge said in a release Wednesday.
"Child predators continue to encourage the grotesque cycle of child sexual abuse and victimization every time they share these horrific videos of innocent kids being forced to engage in unspeakable acts. This is why my office works tirelessly to ensure that these criminals are arrested, prosecuted, and imprisoned to the fullest extent of the law."
According to the probable cause affidavit, during an authorized internet undercover operation, the attorney general's Cyber Crimes Unit identified a computer, reportedly in Arkansas, that was offering to participate in the distribution of known child pornography.
A computer IP address was identified as offering to participate in the downloading and or distribution of child sexual material from April 17, 2019, and was last reported on Sept. 1, 2019.
On Oct. 7, 2019, agents served a subpoena to Suddenlink Communications, the internet service provider for the IP address.
The subpoena requested the subscriber records for the IP address during the dates and times listed. The address returned to a residence on Pyreness Way in Hot Springs Village.
On Dec. 3, 2019, agents from the attorney general's office executed a search warrant at the residence and interviewed Kimball, who was the resident at that address.
Kimball disclosed "he had been distributing, viewing and was in possession of child pornography."
During a search of Kimball's laptop computer, agents reportedly found 30 images and videos "depicting children being sexually exploited" in his saved files. Kimball was taken into custody and initially held on zero bond.
His bond was later set at $50,000 and he had remained in custody since then.
Kimball, who listed no prior criminal history, pleaded not guilty to the charges on Jan. 13, 2020, and a motion for a bond reduction was denied by former Judge John Homer Wright. The case was continued several times but was finally set for a disposition hearing on Monday.
Rutledge also cited the March 16 sentencing of Mark Burke White, 35, formerly of Hot Springs Village, who pleaded guilty to four of 30 felony counts involving child pornography and was sentenced to 10 years in prison and must also register as a sex offender upon his release.
On Feb. 26, 2018, agents from the Cyber Crimes Division and officers from the Hot Springs Village Police Department executed a search warrant at White's then residence on Peral Circle in Hot Springs Village and arrested White after locating a laptop and an external hard drive with numerous videos involving child pornography.
Assistant Attorney General Jill Irwin from the Cyber Crimes Division was special prosecutor in both cases.