Army major convicted of producing child pornography
A U.S. Army major assigned to the U.S. Army Cyber Command at Fort Gordon has admitted to producing child pornography, the Department of Justice announced on Thursday
A U.S. Army major assigned to the U.S. Army Cyber Command at Fort Gordon has admitted to producing child pornography, the Department of Justice announced on Thursday.
Jason Michael Musgrove, 40, of Grovetown, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to information charging him with production of child pornography, said Bobby L. Christine, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia.
The charge carries a possible penalty of up to 30 years in prison along with substantial fines and restitution to victims in the case, followed by a period of supervised release.
There is no parole in the federal system.
At the time of his December 2019 arrest, Musgrove was an Integrated Threat Operations Officer with Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmentalized Information clearance, assigned to the Army Cyber Joint Headquarters at Fort Gordon.
According to court testimony and documents, Musgrove admitted using a hidden camera to film juvenile victims in a bathroom of his residence, the Department of Justice said.
Unsealed court documents stated in early December 2019 Musgrove distributed child pornography in Kik chat rooms that were being monitored by a child exploitation task force working out of Washington, D.C.
Musgrove also repeatedly sent disturbing messages of a sexual nature in Kik chats, according to the court documents.
Kik is a free messaging app similar to WhatsApp. It allows users to send texts, pictures and videos, among other things.
“We’re grateful to our FBI partners for their work in identifying and removing this threat to children. Their diligent and fast action in this case is inspiring,” U.S. Attorney Christine said. “There is no place in the Southern District where such a despicable predator will be allowed to hide from justice.”
“The production of child pornography is one of the most horrendous crimes we deal with in our society. It is even more concerning when the crime is allegedly committed by a member of our armed forces who is sworn to protect the United States,” Special Agent in Charge Chris Hacker of the FBI Atlanta field office said. “The FBI is committed to protecting our children and working with our law enforcement partners to identify and apprehend predators who carry out these appalling crimes.”
The investigation is being conducted by the FBI, and prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorney and Project Safe Childhood Coordinator Tara M. Lyons.
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