Rome Man Sentenced for Distributing Child Pornography

Media release, U.S. Attorney's Office

MICHAEL ZACHARY ALLMON, 28, of Rome, Georgia, was sentenced today before United States District Court Judge Robert L. Vining to over 12 years in prison for distribution of child pornography.

 

        United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said: "This defendant amassed a huge collection of images and videos of young boys and distributed those images to others.  He has fueled a market for these horrendous images and has earned a substantial prison sentence."

 

        Brian D. Lamkin, Special Agent In Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office, stated: "The FBI works hard to protect America's children from individuals such as Mr. Allmon. These individuals often have no regard for the youth that they victimize. Anyone with information regarding such activities is urged to contact their nearest FBI field office."

 

        ALLMON was sentenced to 12 years, 6 months in prison, to be followed by supervised release for the rest of his life.  He will be required to register as a sex offender.  There is no parole in the federal system.  ALLMON pleaded guilty to the charge on January 11, 2012.

 

        According to United States Attorney Yates and the information presented in court:  In September 2010, a law enforcement agent working undercover downloaded images of child pornography from ALLMON, whose enormous collection of such images was available to others through a publicly available file sharing software.  When approached by the FBI, ALLMON initially denied the misconduct, but later admitted that he had a large collection of child pornography and that he knowingly shared those images with other individuals.  Evidence further showed that ALLMON, posing as a teenage boy,  engaged in sexually explicit online communications with an actual minor boy residing in another state.  ALLMON sent that minor pornographic images and the boy sent ALLMON pornographic images of himself.

 

        This case is being prosecuted as a priority of the Justice Department's Project Safe Childhood. In February 2006, the Attorney General launched Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from exploitation and abuse.  Led by the United States Attorney's Offices around the country, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

 

        This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

 

        Assistant United States Attorney Jill E. Steinberg and former Assistant United States Attorney Robert McBurney prosecuted the case.