Texas Man Sentenced to 19 Years for Distributing Child Sexual Abuse Material

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A South Texas man was sentenced Aug. 6 to 19 years in federal prison for distributing child sexual abuse material following an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Corpus Christi and the Corpus Christi Police Department’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

Jonathan Follis, a 47-year-old resident of Corpus Christi, was sentenced in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas to serve 19 years in federal prison to be immediately followed by eight years of supervised release for distributing child pornography. Follis, who pleaded guilty to the charges on Feb. 5, was also ordered to pay $75,000 in restitution to his victims and to register as a sex offender.

“The distribution of child pornography is not a victimless crime,” said HSI Houston Special Agent in Charge Mark Dawson. “The distribution revictimizes the minors who were sexually exploited to create those images every time it is shared. Thanks to the outstanding partnerships that HSI has with our local law enforcement partners, we were able to quickly identify this child predator and remove him from the community so he can no longer harm or revictimize our children.”

The investigation began when authorities discovered that Follis was participating in discussions about child sexual abuse material in various chat rooms. Follis conducted the majority of these conversations using a cellphone that he kept in his office at work. Law enforcement subsequently conducted a search of that office, where they discovered the phone hidden under his keyboard. When approached about the discovery, Follis admitted to using the phone to distribute child sexual abuse material.

A forensic analysis of the phone by law enforcement confirmed that Follis had been engaging in chat room discussions about child sexual abuse using the username “frickenwierdo” and had also distributed child sexual abuse material in private chats. The investigation further revealed Follis distributed a video of child sexual abuse on April 5, 2023, approximately one month before law enforcement executed the search warrant leading to his arrest.

During the hearing, the court also heard evidence about conversations Follis had with others detailing sexual assaults he committed in the past, including sexual assault on his own family members. The court was also provided with numerous impact letters from the victims of the child sexual abuse material.

Follis will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patrick Overman and John Marck prosecuted the case.

For more news and information on HSI’s efforts to aggressively investigate child exploitation and child pornography in Southeast Texas follow us on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @HSIHouston.