Ex-Coast deputy who pleaded guilty to producing child pornography sentenced to 30 years

Former Hancock County sheriff’s Deputy Derrick Patrick Flanagan will spend 30 years in prison after he pleaded guilty in April to production of child pornography.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Mississippi announced Flanagan’s sentencing in U.S. District Court in Gulfport on Thursday.

Prosecutors charged Flanagan, 38, with production of child pornography. A charging document reported by the Sun Herald earlier this year showed prosecutors accused Flanagan of enticing and coercing a minor 12 or under to engage in sexually explicit conduct to produce child porn using materials that had been shipped, mailed or transported across state lines and by computer.

Investigators identified Flanagan last year after the Hancock County Sheriff’s department received two tips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The tips led deputies to Flanagan -- who had worked at the Diamondhead Police Department and lived in Gulfport.

The first tip dates to November 2020. It pointed investigators to a file-sharing service called Dropbox that held child pornography under the false name John Adams. Through a warrant, the sheriff’s department traced the Dropbox account to a home in Waveland where Flanagan lived.

Investigators said once they realized Flanagan lived in the residence, they confronted him, but he blamed the allegations on a roommate. The department closed the investigation, according to earlier reported records and court testimony.

Flanagan returned to work — until the department learned of a second tip.

The tip pointed to a new Dropbox account, this time in Flanagan’s name. Deputies obtained another warrant, found child pornography and arrested and fired Flanagan.

Investigators found “multiple visual depictions of child sexual abuse material” through forensic searches of a laptop and phones connected to Flanagan, according to the release. They also found “40,000 lines of chats” sent through SnapChat, where Flanagan would communicate — and sometimes threaten — young victims.

According to earlier reported court testimony, authorities found 10 videos and one image that all show children in sexually explicit acts. Flanagan also sent explicit photos of himself to minors, court testimony showed.

Federal authorities said Flanagan would threaten minor victims if they did not perform and send the sexual acts he requested. He sometimes paid them, according to authorities.

Under his sentencing requirements, Flanagan must also pay thousands of dollars in fines — $5,000 under the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015 and $10,000 under the Amy, Vicky, and Andy Child Pornography Victim Assistance Act of 2018, the release said.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrea Jones prosecuted the case and the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Cyber Crime Division of the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office investigated.

Staff writer Margaret Baker contributed to this report.