Bessemer Man Sentenced To 135 Months In Jail For Child Porn

BIRMINGHAM, AL —A Bessemer man, who was a previously convicted sex offender, was sentenced to 135 months in prison in a federal court on Tuesday for possession of child pornography, the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Northern District of Alabama announced.

Edward Horton, 52, pleaded guilty in October 2021 to possession of child pornography after his 2020 arrest. Horton had previously been convicted of first-degree sexual abuse of a child in 1998 in the Ninth Judicial Circuit of Alabama.

According to the sentence handed out Tuesday by U.S District Court Judge Annemarie Axon, Horton's prison sentence will be followed by supervised release for life.

"Possession of child pornography is an intolerable crime that victimizes the most vulnerable," U.S. Attorney Prim Escalona said after the sentencing. "We are grateful for the collaborative efforts of our federal, state and local law enforcement partners to stop this repeat child predator."

In March 2020, according to details from a plea agreement, law enforcement received several cyber tips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) that images of child pornography had been uploaded to an Instagram account registered to Horton.

In April of that year, a state search warrant was executed of Horton's home, where agents seized two cell phones. A forensic review of those cell phones uncovered 95 images and 28 videos of children being sexually exploited, according to authorities.

In a plea agreement, Horton said his exchange of child pornography began in late 2019 and was conducted online through Instagram, Wickr, Telegram and Tumblr.

"Whenever one of these images is shared or viewed, it victimizes an innocent child all over again, making it extremely difficult for the victim to recover." said Katrina Berger, a special agent who oversees Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) operations in Georgia and Alabama. "Stopping those who delight in and distribute this filth is one of the most important missions HSI has."