Child Pornography Offender Sentenced to 14 Years in Prison

TUCSON, Ariz. - Duane "Sparky" Lee Johnsen, 55, of Tucson, was sentenced last week to 168 months in prison by United States District Judge John C. Hinderaker for violations of federal law related to child pornography. Johnsen 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 on lifetime supervised release and will be required to register as a sex offender.

Johnsen was found in possession of child sex abuse images through an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Tucson, which located individuals using file-sharing programs to obtain these images. When HSI 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. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

Homeland Security Investigations Tucson conducted the investigation in this case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Carin C. Duryee and Carson R. Gilbert, District of Arizona, Tucson, handled the prosecution.

CASE NUMBER: CR-21-01118-JCH
RELEASE NUMBER: 2024-152_Johnsen

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For more information on the U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
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