TUCSON, Ariz. — A local area man was sentenced last week to 168 months in federal prison followed by a lifetime of supervised release for violations of law related to child exploitation. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) conducted the investigation in this case.
“The severe harm caused by images of child exploitation is not just a crime but a permanent record of that abuse that must immediately end,” said HSI Arizona Special Agent in Charge Francisco B. Burrola. “The defendant in this case will be spending the next 14 years in prison for his crimes committed on children. HSI will not stand for this deviant and abhorrent behavior.”
This statement stresses the severe harm caused by child pornography and the irreversible damage it does to victims, emphasizing the urgency of its eradication.
Duane “Sparky” Lee Johnsen, 55, of Tucson, was found guilty of Receipt, Knowing Access, and Possession of Child Pornography after a three-day federal jury trial in September 2023. When Johnsen is released from prison, he will be required to register as a sex offender.
Johnsen was found in possession of child sex abuse images using file-sharing programs to obtain these images. When HSI special agents executed a search warrant at Johnsen’s home in December 2019, agents recovered numerous computers and digital storage devices which contained large amounts of data. Examination of the digital items confirmed that Johnsen had been searching for, downloading, categorizing, and saving very large numbers of child sex abuse images, including prepubescent victims, on several of his devices. Johnsen was also in possession of other material related to child sex abuse, including a manual on how to groom children and animated comics depicting sexual abuse of children.
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 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.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Carin C. Duryee and Carson R. Gilbert, District of Arizona, Tucson, handled the prosecution.
HSI is a global leader in the fight against child exploitation. Last year, HSI special agents dedicated 1.2 million case hours toward investigating child exploitation. This heinous crime harms the most vulnerable in our society: our kids. As technology evolves and more people have access to the internet, children are at a greater risk than ever. HSI’s special agents and analysts around the world are dedicated to countering this threat.
Report suspected child exploitation to the HSI Tip Line at 877-4-HSI-TIP or through the CyberTipline on the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children's website.