Forsyth Sex Offender Sentenced to 20 Years for Child Pornography

 SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A prior sex offender in Forsyth, Missouri, was sentenced in federal court today for receiving and distributing child pornography.

Timothy Wayne Carnelison Jr., 35, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes to 20 in federal prison without parole. The court also sentenced Carnelison to spend the rest of his life on supervised release following incarceration. Carnelison will be required to register as a sex offender upon his release from prison and will be subject to federal and state sex offender registration requirements, which may apply throughout his life.

Carnelison, who was sentenced as a prior sex offender, has two prior convictions for statutory sodomy in the first degree and a prior conviction for child molestation.

On Feb. 20, 2020, Carnelison pleaded guilty to receiving and distributing child pornography.

The investigation began when Google initiated a CyberTip with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children after locating files of suspected child pornography in Carnelison’s Google Photo application. Investigators confirmed the child pornography and, on Sept. 24, 2019, executed a search warrant at Carnelison’s residence. They found images of child pornography on his cell phone.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ami Harshad Miller. It was investigated by Immigration and Custom Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Southwest Missouri Cybercrime Task Force.

Project Safe Childhood
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."