Laurel County Man Sentenced to 40 Years for Production of Child Pornography

From US Attorney's Office - London, Ky. -

Dana Jones - BCDC

A London man, Dana Jones, 60, was sentenced to 40 years in federal prison on Monday, by U.S. District Judge Robert Wier, following his convictions for production of child pornography.

According to his guilty plea agreement, in December 2020, Jones enticed two minors to participate in a sexually explicit video, which Jones captured on one of the victim’s cell phones. Jones then took the sexually explicit images and uploaded them to the social media application Snapchat.

Prior to this incident, Jones engaged in a pattern of grooming behavior, which regularly involved supplying the victims – who were just 12 and 14 years old at the time – with alcohol and drugs, including alprazolam (Xanax) oxycodone (Percocet), and cocaine. The investigation also revealed that Jones had engaged in sexual contact with one of the victims over the course of their association.

Under federal law, Jones must serve 85 percent of his prison sentence; and upon his release, he will be under the supervision of the U.S. Probation Office for life.

Carlton S. Shier, IV, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; J. Todd Scott, Special Agent in Charge, DEA, Louisville Field Division; Col. Phillip Burnett, Commissioner, Kentucky State Police (KSP); and Sheriff Jon Root, Laurel County Sheriff’s Office, jointly announced the sentence.

The investigation was conducted by DEA, KSP, and Laurel County Sherriff’s Office. The United States was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sam Dotson.

This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, 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 www.projectsafechildhood.gov.