Man from Springfield sentenced in Federal Court Thursday in child porn case
Scott James Wells will serve 14 years in federal prison without parole
A man from Springfield was sentenced in federal court Thursday for receiving child pornography over the internet.
56-year-old Scott James Wells will serve 14 years in federal prison without parole, after being sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool.
Wells will be on supervised release for the rest of his life and must pay $15,000 in restitution to his victims.
A release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office Western District of Missouri says,
“On May 4, 2021, Wells withdrew his plea of not guilty on the day his criminal jury trial was scheduled to begin. Wells entered a nolo contendre, or “no contest,” plea, neither admitting nor disputing the federal charges against him, but acknowledging the government had sufficient evidence to convict him of the crimes charged beyond a reasonable doubt. The court found Wells guilty of one count of receiving and distributing child pornography. Wells has been detained in federal custody since that date.
Wells received child pornography over the internet between Dec. 15, 2016, through March 22, 2017. Law enforcement received two CyberTipline reports from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children after Wells used his Facebook account to transmit two images of child pornography to another Facebook user.
Officers executed a search warrant at Wells’s residence and seized his laptop computer, which contained child pornography.”
You can view the full news release here.