Convicted Sex Offender Sentenced For Distribution Of Child Pornography To Another

Chattanooga, Tenn. – On January 10, 2020, Matthew John Jurado, 52, currently of Tracy, California, was sentenced by the Honorable Travis R. McDonough, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee at Chattanooga.  Mr. Jurado was sentenced to 120 months in prison, followed by five years’ supervised release.                                            

As part of the written plea agreement, Jurado agreed to plead guilty to count two of the indictment by a Federal Grand Jury, where he was charged with causing another person to possess child pornography in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252(a)(4)(B) and 2(b).  Jurado is a registered sex offender with a prior conviction for child pornography.  

In February 2019, the defendant distributed numerous images of child pornography throughout the world from a coffee shop located in Tracy, California.  The defendant’s activities and identity were discovered by a member of the Chattanooga Crimes Against Children Task Force, when the defendant distributed child pornography to an undercover Task Force officer. Furthermore, members of the Task Force arrested a second individual who had traveled to Chattanooga with the intent to engage in sex with a minor.  Law enforcement agents seized the cell phone belonging to that individual, and found that it contained child pornography that had been sent by the defendant.

“Information sharing among local and federal agencies across the country can bring dangerous criminals to justice.  Every child deserves to grow up without the fear, humiliation, and trauma of being the victim of sexual exploitation.  If you engage in production of child pornography or dissemination of child pornography in the Eastern District of Tennessee, you will be caught and serve significant time in prison.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue to aggressively pursue the predators in this world who seek to abuse the most innocent among us,” said J. Douglas Overbey.

“Those who prey on children, whether they live in Tennessee or around the world, will be found, will be investigated and will be prosecuted.  The FBI along with our local, state, and federal partners remain committed to protect our community and hold those accountable whose desire is to harm, abuse, and victimize our most precious resource, our children,” said FBI’s Special Agent in Charge Joe Carrico.

The criminal indictment and plea agreement are the result of an ongoing investigation by the Chattanooga Crimes Against Children Task Force, which consists of agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Homeland Security Investigations (HIS), the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Department, and the Chattanooga Police Department.  This investigation was led by Special Agent Samuel Moore with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Assistant United States Attorney James T. Brooks represented the United States.