Repeat Offender Sentenced To 35 Years For Child Pornography

Defendant Has Two Prior Federal Child Pornography Convictions

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Johnny Allen Hass, Jr., 49, of Charlotte, was sentenced today to 35 years in prison for transportation of child pornography charges, announced R. Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.  U.S. District Judge Robert J. Conrad, Jr. also ordered Hass to serve a lifetime of supervised release and to register as a sex offender after he is released from prison.

John A. Strong, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Charlotte Division joins U.S. Attorney Murray in making today’s announcement.

According to court documents and information introduced at the sentencing hearing, on June 28, 2016, Hass used a peer-2-peer network to transport multiple files containing child pornography via the internet to an undercover FBI agent.  During a subsequent search of Hass’s residence in Charlotte, law enforcement seized a thumb drive. Law enforcement also seized a cell phone from Hass.  Forensic analyses of those devices revealed that Hass possessed 78 videos of child pornography, some of which depicted the sadistic and masochistic sexual abuse of prepubescent minors as well as other violent conduct. 

Hass was convicted in Florida in 1987 for Attempted Lewd Assault Upon a Child, and for Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon.  In 1996, Hass was convicted federally for transportation of child pornography and again in 1998 for receipt of child pornography.  He was also convicted in 2015 in Mecklenburg County for a sex offender registry violation. According to the terms of his supervised release for his prior federal convictions, Hass was prohibited from owning a computer, an internet hub, or any device that could access the internet.

Hass pleaded guilty to transportation of child pornography on August 7, 2017. He is currently in federal custody and will be transferred to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility.  All federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole.

The FBI led the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Cortney Randall of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte prosecuted the case.