33-Year-Old Lexington Man Will Spend The Next 15 Years in Federal Prison For Producing Child Pornography Images

Sunday, August 18, 2024, 10:15 A.M. ET. 1 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,

COLUMBIA, SC.- On Friday, August 16, 2024, James Austen Gillespie, 33, of Lexington, South Carolina, appeared in U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina and entered a guilty plea to the production of Child Sexual Abuse Material, “Child Pornography.”

Sentenced Federal Prison

After pleading guilty, U.S. District Court Judge Sherri A Lydon sentenced Gillespie to 180 months in federal prison, to be followed by a life term of court-ordered supervision. Gillespie was also ordered to pay $25,000 in restitution to his victims and register as a sex offender.

     Since there is no eligibility for parole in the U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons, Gillespie will be required to serve around 13 years of his custodial term before being eligible for release.

     According to documents filed with the court on July 11, 2021, Gillespie utilized his cell phone to edit himself into digital images of a nude young child.

     The prosecution was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the United States Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.