Acting United States Attorney Nancy Stallard Harr

Eastern District of Tennessee

______________________________________________________________________________
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: SHARRY DEDMAN-BEARD
Thursday, January 7, 2016
Public Information Officer
www.usdoj.gov/usao/tne
(865) 545-4167
NEW TAZEWELL RESIDENT JERISEN AMUNDSEN SENTENCED TO
127 MONTHS IN PRISON FOR CHILD PORNOGRAPHY OFFENSES
KNOXVILLE, Tenn.- On Jan. 7, 2016, Jerisen Lee Amundsen, 20, of New Tazewell, Tenn.,
was sentenced by the Honorable Thomas A. Varlan, Chief U.S. District Judge, to serve 127 months in
prison as a result of his conviction for distribution of child pornography. Following his release from
prison, Amundsen will be supervised by the U.S. Probation Office for life and will be required to
register with the sex offender registry in any state in which he resides, works, or attends school.
Admundsen pleaded guilty in May 2015 to federal charges stemming from an international
undercover investigation into trading child pornography on the Internet. A federal search warrant
was executed at Amundsens residence and a forensic examination of Admundsens computer
revealed that he had collected 1009 still images and 187 videos of child pornography, in addition to
posting child pornography on the Internet.
Nancy Stallard Harr, Acting U.S. Attorney, emphasized the importance of pursuing child
pornography offenders. The successful collaborative efforts of federal, state and law enforcement
agencies in this investigation have resulted in this defendant no longer being able to circulate images
and videos of the sexual abuse of children to others. This sentence should send a message that the
United States will aggressively investigate and prosecute those who choose to participate in the
continued victimization of children, our most vulnerable members of society, through the circulation
of child pornography on the Internet.
This investigation was conducted locally by U.S. Homeland Security Investigations,
Knoxville Police Departments Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, and the Tennessee
Highway Patrol. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Morris represented the United States.
This case was brought 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, 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.
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