By Lisa Addison

laddison@americanpress.com

A Vinton man was sentenced this week to 13 years in prison for possession and receipt of child pornography.

Gerald Allen Beaudeaux, 32, was sentenced before United States District Judge James D. Cain Jr., who also sentenced him to 10 years of supervised release.

Beaudeaux pleaded guilty on Aug. 13.

Evidence presented at his hearing revealed that law enforcement agents received a Cybertip report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in August 2018 indicating a Dropbox user had uploaded images and videos containing child pornography through the internet to an account.

An investigation revealed Beaudeaux was the suspected user and owner of the Dropbox account and on Dec. 19, 2018, law enforcement executed a search warrant for his residence and cell phone.

On Beaudeaux’s cell phone, agents discovered more than 600 images of child pornography, including images of prepubescent children who had not attained the age of 12 as well as infants.

Beaudeaux admitted he had uploaded the images to his Dropbox account and used his cell phone to view child pornography.

The Department of Homeland Security conducted the investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel J. Vermaelen prosecuted the case.