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Angleton man sentenced to 12 years in prison for distributing child porn via Dropbox

ANGLETON, Texas – A Texas man has been sentenced to several years in prison for the receipt, possession and distribution of child pornography, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

In a news release, the DOJ said Joe Dean Spradlin, 51, pleaded guilty to the crime on March 11, 2020 and was sentenced to 155 months (approximately 12 years) in federal prison on Thursday.

According to the release, authorities learned about a Dropbox account in 2017 that contained material with nude children showing their genitals or engaging in sexual activity. Investigators were able to trace the account to Spradlin’s home.

Officials said they executed a search warrant and seized his laptop, which contained thousands of images and videos of child pornography, including videos of “unusual” length. One being over two hours long, authorities said.

According to the release, Spradlin confessed to getting the material from sites like Tumblr and Kik and using the Dropbox to store it. Officials said he “even paid extra to increase the storage capacity of his account.”

Following his sentence, Spradlin will serve 10 years of supervised release during which he will have to comply with several restrictions. He will also be required to register as a sex offender.


About the Author
Daniela Sternitzky-Di Napoli headshot

Daniela Sternitzky-Di Napoli has been a digital news editor at KPRC 2 since 2018. She is a published poet and has background in creative writing and journalism. Daniela has covered events like Hurricane Harvey and the Astros World Series win. In her spare time, Daniela is an avid reader and loves to spend time with her two miniature dachshunds.

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