Craig S. Morford
United States Attorney
Courtney D. Trombly
Eli J. Richardson
Assistant United States Attorneys
GOODLETTSVILLE MAN WITH PRIOR FELONY CONVICTION FOR SEXUAL BATTERY SENTENCED ON CHILD PORNOGRAPHY CHARGES
Nashville, TN - July 12, 2007 - Craig S. Morford, United States Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee, announced that Daniel Roy Gardner, 55, of Goodlettsville, Tennessee, has been sentenced to 9 years in prison (108 months) by United States District Judge Aleta Trauger. In February 2007, Gardner pled guilty to one count of receipt of child pornography via computer and one count of possession of child pornography in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2252A. On July 10, 2007, after a lengthy sentencing hearing, Gardner was sentenced to 9 years of imprisonment to be followed by four years of supervised release.
At the sentencing hearing, the government submitted still images and videos of child pornography that had been seized from the defendant’s computers and computer storage media. The court found that the defendant possessed over 600 still images and 41 videos depicting children engaged in a vast array of sexually explicit conduct, including adults engaged in oral, anal and vaginal sexual intercourse with minors in the approximate age range of 3-15. The court also found that the images depicted the sexual exploitation of prepubescent children, and that several of the images depicted sadistic and masochistic sexual abuse of children. The child pornography downloaded by Gardner also contained videos and still images of minors with their hands and feet bound and tied while being sexually abused by adult males.
In 1994, Gardner was convicted of Sexual Battery in the Commonwealth of Virginia in a case stemming from his sexual abuse of his minor daughter. He served no time in prison for this conviction, as he received merely a suspended sentence
Said Mr. Morford, “This case is a stark example of the fact that this type of sadistic, unthinkable abuse of children cannot and will not be left unchecked. Child predators with a history of crimes against children like this defendant must be aggressively pursued, prosecuted and punished in order to punish the defendant for this revolting crime,deter similar behavior by others, prevent continued victimization, and protect the children of society.”
These charges were brought following a coordinated investigation conducted by members of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Violent Crimes Task Force, which is comprised of agents from various law enforcement agencies, to include the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The forensic computer analysis was conducted by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Courtney D. Trombly.