United States Attorney Richard W. Moore of the Southern District of Alabama announces that James Derrick Robertson, age 53, of Demopolis, was sentenced today after pleading guilty to receiving child pornography and obstruction of justice.

According to information presented at the sentencing hearing, Robertson taught students at Demopolis High School to operate the sound system at the school. On Feb. 18, 2017, the principal of the high school contacted the Demopolis Police Department regarding a complaint about Robertson. Pursuant to this investigation, a search warrant was executed at Robertson’s home and his computers were seized.

In court documents filed in connection with his guilty plea, Robertson admitted that an examination of his hard drive revealed that he had possessed four videos of underage girls performing fellatio on adult males. Two of the girls appeared to be unconscious. A forensic search of the defendant’s telephone also revealed two images of toddlers being raped.

In regards to the charge of obstruction of justice, Robertson admitted to searching the internet for methods to destroy data and prevent recovery by forensic tools, after he became aware of the investigation on Feb.19, 2017. He then downloaded a wiping program that deleted internet searches for child pornography, images of child pornography, and incriminating chats with minors.

At sentencing, the United States argued that the defendant had downloaded images with titles suggesting they were of violent acts against young girls including rape. Judge Callie V. S. Granade found that Robertson was a danger to the community and ordered 235 months of imprisonment, followed by a lifetime of supervised release. Robertson will also be required to register as a sex offender.

This case was the result of a joint investigation between the Demopolis Police Department and the Mobile Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Maria Murphy of the U.S. Attorney’s Office – Southern District of Alabama.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Alabama at http://www.justice.gov/usao/als/