James David Johnson, 58, of Santee, California, was sentenced on Sept. 11, 2026, to 151 months in prison for distributing images and videos over the dark web that depicted the sexual abuse of children. He also received 10 years of supervised release after pleading guilty to distributing child pornography on Oct. 14, 2025.
According to court documents, Johnson belonged to at least five dark web communities dedicated to child sexual abuse material, or CSAM, and the sexual exploitation of children. He distributed large volumes of CSAM through those websites and advised other users on methods to evade law enforcement.
On one website that was dedicated in part to material depicting children subjected to pain and suffering, Johnson advanced to become a high-ranking staff member, court documents said. FBI agents later executed search warrants at his home and workplace and seized computer devices containing more than 260,000 images and videos of apparent child sexual abuse and exploitation. The devices also contained autopsy and crime-scene photographs depicting deceased children.
The FBI’s San Diego Field Office and Child Exploitation Operational Section investigated the case. Acting Deputy Chief Kyle P. Reynolds of the Justice Department’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda Griffith for the Southern District of California prosecuted it.
The prosecution was brought under Project Safe Childhood, a Justice Department initiative launched in May 2006 to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, the initiative coordinates federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute people who exploit children through the internet, and to identify and rescue victims.