Gulfport man headed to prison for using Dropbox to send 50-plus videos of child porn

A Gulfport man was sentenced Tuesday to 17 1/2 years for downloading and transmitting 56 pornographic videos of minors engaged in sex acts.

Jesse Allen Nichols, 37, pleaded guilty in August to federal charges of transporting images of minors engaged in sexually-explicit conduct.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Louis Guirola Jr. sentenced Nichols to serve an additional 20 years under post-release supervision and ordered him to pay $24,000 in restitution to his victims along with a special assessment fee of $5,000.

According to U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst, an investigation began after Nichols downloaded the pornographic videos into the online storage medium Dropbox, which prompted officials with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to send a tip to agents with Homeland Security Investigations.

“Those who peddle in obscene images of children will feel the full force and weight of the law upon their shoulders,” Hurst said in a press release. “I want to thank our partners at Homeland Security and NCMEC for helping us bring this reprehensible criminal to justice. We will be unrelenting in ensuring that the least among us are protected and safe.”

Nichols had downloaded the videos in February 2018.

After his arrest, Nichols admitted using his cellphone to download the child pornography from various sites and transmitting them to the online storage box.

Nichols was indicted and arrested in December 2018.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrea Jones and Justice Department attorney Ralph A. Paradiso prosecuted the case.