Timothy Stedman Sloan, 61, of Lexington, has been sentenced to nearly seven years in federal prison after pleading guilty to possession of child sexual abuse material.*

Sloan possessed over 100 images and/or videos of child sexual abuse material, including images of toddlers and prepubescent minors. Sloan joined social media groups where he would discuss grooming and sexually abusing of children.

United States District Judge Mary Geiger Lewis sentenced Felix to 81 months’ imprisonment, to be followed by a 15-year term of court-ordered supervision, along with fines and $25,000 in restitution to the victims in this case.  There is no parole in the federal system.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit Justice.gov/PSC.

This case was investigated by the FBI Columbia Field Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elle E. Klein prosecuted the case.

* The term “child pornography” is currently used in federal statutes and is defined as any visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct involving a person less than 18 years old. While this phrase still appears in federal law, “child sexual abuse material” is preferred, as it better reflects the abuse that is depicted in the images and videos and the resulting trauma to the child.