Northern California Man Sentenced To Prison For Receipt And Distribution Of Over 1,000 Images Of Child Pornography

 LAS VEGAS, Nev. — A northern California man was sentenced today to seven years and six months in prison, to be followed by lifetime supervision, for receiving and distributing more than 1,000 images of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas A. Trutanich for the District of Nevada.

Cody Nathan Patterson, 32, of northern California, resided in Henderson, Nev., at the time of the offense. In March 2020, he pleaded guilty to one count of receipt and distribution of child pornography before U.S. District Judge Andrew P. Gordon, who sentenced Patterson today. In addition to imprisonment and supervised release, Patterson was ordered to pay $89,000 in restitution to victims. Under the Sex Offender Registration Notification Act, Patterson is also required to register as a sex offender.

According to court documents, between May 2013 and November 2015, Patterson distributed and received nearly 1,200 images of child pornography using Skype. In November 2015, Skype reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) that a user — subsequently identified by investigators as Patterson — uploaded images depicting child pornography. When executing search warrants at Patterson’s residence and vehicle, law enforcement seized electronic devices. Those devices contained more than 10,000 images and videos of child pornography, some of which included sadistic and masochistic content.

The investigation was conducted by the Henderson Police Department and the FBI’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Oliva prosecuted the case.

To report child sexual abuse and exploitation, please contact the NCMEC at 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678) or online at https://report.cybertip.org/.

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 http://www.justice.gov/psc.