WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - A young woman from Madera County, California, was sentenced to nearly 17 years in prison for aiding and abetting the production of child pornography.
Ashley Maddox, 32, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Dale A. Drozd of the Eastern District of California. She will be under supervision for 15 years after her release, the Justice Department said.
Maddox was brought to the attention of law enforcement in Fort Pierce, Florida during their investigation into a male pedophile there in June 2017.
The investigation revealed that since November 2015, Maddox had communicated with that offender online about their mutual sexual interest in minors. A forensic examination of that individual's mobile phone recovered Kik chat conversations between him and Maddox.
Over the course of these communications, Maddox requested that he send her images and video recordings in which he sexually abused a minor victim in his care. To encourage this individual to produce such images, Maddox requested that he commit specific acts.
Maddox received from him over 20 images and videos. Maddox also sent him sexually explicit images of a minor to whom she had access, the prosecutors said.
Maddox pleaded guilty to one count of aiding and abetting the production of child pornography on May 24.
The investigation was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations in Fort Pierce, Florida, and Fresno, California.
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