Burke County man sentenced to federal prison for possession of child pornography

A Burke County man has been sentenced to federal prison after investigators discovered a massive cache of images of sexually exploited children on devices in his possession.

Jason Bonds Connelly, 61, of Waynesboro, Ga., was sentenced to 110 months in prison after pleading guilty to Possession of Child Pornography, said Jill E. Steinberg, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. U.S. District Court Chief Judge J. Randal Hall also ordered Connelly to pay a fine and assessment of $2,000, and to register as a sex offender and serve 15 years of supervised release upon completion of his prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.

As described in court documents and testimony, investigators from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the Coweta County Sheriff's Office in early 2022 were conducting an online investigation into network sharing of images of child pornography. They discovered an account with nearly 60,000 files believed to contain images of child sexual abuse, and the investigation led them to Connelly's residence.

During a search of that home, investigators found images of child sexual exploitation, including images depicting sadistic and masochistic sexual contact between adults and children. As noted in court, the GBI identified Connelly's internet address as one of the top offenders in the state of Georgia for sharing child sexual abuse material.

The case was investigated by the GBI, with assistance from the Coweta County Sheriff's office, the Lowndes County Sheriff's Office, and the Burke County Sheriff's Office, and prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorney and Project Safe Childhood Coordinator Jason W. Blanchard.

Anyone with information on suspected child sexual exploitation can contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 800-843-5678, or https://report.cybertip.org/.