United States Attorney's Office District of Connecticut
Press Release

Project Safe Childhood: EASTON MAN SENTENCED TO 8 YEARS IN FEDERAL PRISON FOR DISTRIBUTING CHILD PORNOGRAPHY

Kevin J. O’Connor, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that JERRY DOUGLAS COMBS, age 47, of Easton, Connecticut, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport to 96 months of imprisonment, followed by eight years of supervised release, for distributing child pornography.  COMBS pleaded guilty the offense on April 3, 2006.

According to documents filed with the Court and statements made in court, in 2005, COMBS used Google’s “Hello” program to exchange images of child pornography with other Hello users.

This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney James K. Filan.

U.S. Attorney O’Connor noted that this prosecution is part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood Initiative, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse.  Led by the United States Attorneys Offices, 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 identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

To report cases of child exploitation, please visit http://www.cybertipline.com.

CONTACT:

U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
Tom Carson
(203) 821-3722
thomas.carson@usdoj.gov