Byron man sentenced to 10 years for possessing child sexual abuse material while on federal supervision

A Byron man who was on federal supervised release for possessing child sexual abuse material (CSAM) when state agents caught him downloading explicit images of children was sentenced to 10 years in prison, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Georgia announced on Thursday.

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – A Byron man caught downloading child sexual abuse material (CSAM) while on federal supervised release was sentenced to 10 years in prison, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Georgia announced Thursday.

46-year-old Clarence L. Brown, II was sentenced on March 5 by U.S. District Judge Marc T. Treadwell after pleading guilty to possession of child pornography. His supervised release from a prior Florida conviction was revoked, adding a consecutive 10-month prison term. He must register as a sex offender upon release.

“Viewing and sharing explicit images of children being sexually abused is a federal crime that our office will prosecute to the fullest extent of the law,” Acting U.S. Attorney C. Shanelle Booker said.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) began investigating Brown on June 8, 2021, identifying video files he downloaded depicting CSAM. A search of his Byron home on November 4, 2021, uncovered additional explicit material, including at least nine videos involving children under 12.

“Clarence L. Brown’s actions are a tragic reminder of the persistence of individuals who prey on children, despite previous consequences,” GBI Director Chris Hosey said.

Brown was previously convicted of receiving and possessing child pornography in 2017 and began supervised release in November 2020. Less than a year later, he was caught with CSAM again.

The case was investigated by the GBI Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes Unit with assistance from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. It was prosecuted under Project Safe Childhood, a Department of Justice initiative targeting child exploitation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Monica Daniels is prosecuting the case.