MS Coast man headed to prison for child pornography. ‘I don’t know what I was thinking’
A Hancock County man is headed to prison for 10 years for possessing sexually explicit images of children engaged in sex acts and sharing the images with others.
Judge Larry Bourgeois sentenced Dylan James Mauffray, 23, after he pleaded guilty this week to one count each of possession of child pornography and child exploitation.
Hancock County prosecutors recommend Mauffray serve 15 years behind bars.
Bourgeois handed down a lighter sentence after Mauffray’s attorney, Rufus Alldredge, pointed out how others accused of similar or more severe offenses got less time.
Bourgeois sentenced Mauffray to 30 years in prison, suspending 20 years and leaving 10 years to serve and five years under post-release supervision. The judge fined Mauffray $2,000 and ordered him to pay $1,000 to the Mississippi Children’s Trust fund.
In addition, Mauffray has to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
Before sentencing, the judge asked Mauffray how he got caught.
Mauffray tearfully told the judge he became the subject of an investigation after a friend of his brothers reported the crimes to Hancock County authorities.
He said he didn’t know what he was thinking when he joined an online group to view the material that included images of underage girls engaged in sex acts and more.
“I had a handful of these images stored in my photo gallery,” he said.
“I’m very sorry, not just to the court, but to my community,” Mauffray said. “I don’t know what I was doing. I didn’t really understand what was going on in the world. Knowing everything I know now, knowing everything I did, I just feel sick to my stomach. I just want to ask for forgiveness from everybody here. I’m going to try to do better.”
Mauffray admitted accessing and sharing the images at different times between April 20, 2020, and Dec. 15, 2021.
