Cherokee County man pleads guilty to possession of child pornography

ATLANTA - Jonathan Blane Allred, who was previously convicted of possession of child pornography and used his email and Dropbox accounts to download hundreds of sexually explicit images of children, has pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography. Images and videos of children as young as six years old, engaged in sexually explicit conduct, were among the items confiscated.

“It is particularly disturbing when a defendant who has already served a significant federal sentence for possession of child pornography returns to society only to again engage in this kind of violation of children,” said U.S. Attorney Kurt R. Erskine.  “Possessing child pornography victimizes and abuses the children in the images each time they are disseminated and viewed. This office remains committed to protecting our children from those that seek to exploit them.”

“Clearly, Allred has not gotten the message that this behavior will not be tolerated and that HSI and its law enforcement partners will continue to hold him accountable for actions,” said Special Agent in Charge Katrina W. Berger, who oversees Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) operations in Georgia and Alabama.

“Protecting our children from these types of offenders will always be a priority. We appreciate the partnership we have with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and are pleased Allred is off the streets of Cherokee County,” said Cherokee County Sheriff Frank Reynolds.

According to U.S. Attorney Erskine, the charges and other information presented in court: In March 2021, The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) received a report about a Dropbox account user that had uploaded six files depicting children under the age of 12 engaged in sexually explicit conduct. That information was provided to Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office.

Cherokee County deputies then executed search warrants for the Dropbox and an associated email account and determined that the accounts belonged to Allred and were being accessed from Allred's home. Contained in Allred's Dropbox and email accounts were nearly 600 images, videos, and gifs of children engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

On June 14, 2021, Cherokee County deputies arrested Allred and executed a search warrant for the contents of his laptop and phone. In addition to the hundreds of images found in his accounts, Allred had also stored child pornography on the hard drive of his computer.

Allred was convicted for possession of child pornography in March 2010, in the Northern District of Georgia.  He began serving a term of supervised release in August 2019. Allred also faces revocation of his supervised release as a result of possessing child pornography.

Jonathan Blane Allred, 49, of Waleska, Georgia, pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography on December 16, 2021. Sentencing is scheduled for March 24, 2022, at 3:00 p.m. before U.S. District Judge Eleanor L. Ross.

This case is being investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tiffany R. Dillingham is prosecuting the case.

This case is being brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In February 2006, the Attorney General launched Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse.  Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices around the country, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.