COLUMBIA COUNTY, Ga. — A Georgia man will spend seven years in prison for possessing child pornography.
Perry Jason Ward, a resident of Evans, Georgia, was sentenced to 84 months in federal prison on Thursday.
Ward was found guilty of possessing 45,792 images and 4,609 videos depicting the sexual exploitation of children. He was ordered to register as a sex offender, pay $96,000 in restitution, and serve 15 years of supervised release after his prison term.
“Protecting our children means stopping the creation and distribution of any materials that sexually exploits them,” said Margaret E. Heap, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia.
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The Columbia County Sheriff’s Office discovered the child sexual abuse material (CSAM) in Ward’s possession after receiving multiple CyberTips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). Using this information, they obtained and executed a search warrant on Ward’s home in October 2023.
The CSAM included images of infants, toddlers, and pre-pubescent children, some of whom were subjected to bondage and other horrific acts of abuse. Ward faces additional charges for other conduct in Columbia County Superior Court.
“Crimes that exploit children are among the most disturbing cases we investigate,” said FBI Atlanta Special Agent in Charge Paul Brown.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, and prosecuted by Southern District of Georgia Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason W. Blanchard.
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