Steven A. Humphries Sentenced To Life In Prison For Producing And Possessing Child Pornography

 KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – On April 21, 2021, Steven A. Humphries, age 51, currently of Knoxville, Tennessee, was sentenced by the Honorable Thomas A. Varlan, United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Tennessee, to life imprisonment for producing and possessing child pornography.

Humphries pleaded guilty to an indictment charging him with one count of production of child pornography in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2251(a) and (e) and one count of possession of child pornography in violation of 18 U.S.C. 2252A(a)(5)(B).  Humphries had previously been convicted of sexual offenses against minors and was on state parole and registered as a sex offender at the time of the offenses. 

On October 21, 2018, law enforcement officers searched Humphries’ home and found a large cache of child pornography, including depictions of the defendant molesting a prepubescent minor.   Humphries had been hiding his child pornography in a waterproof container in the pond behind his home.

“The United States is committed to vigorously investigating and prosecuting child sex predators,” stated Acting U.S. Attorney Francis M. Hamilton III.  “This prosecution and sentence demonstrate that registered sex offenders will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law if they reoffend.”

The Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated this case. 

Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Kolman represented the United States in Court.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), 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 Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, PSC 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 PSC, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.justice.gov/psc/resources.html and click on the tab "resources.”