Waynesboro man sentenced to prison for possessing child porn

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - A Burke County man has been sentenced to prison after investigators found a “massive cache of images” of sexually exploited children,” authorities say.

Jason Bonds Connelly, 61, of Waynesboro, was sentenced to 110 months after pleading guilty to possession of child pornography, said Jill E. Steinberg, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia.

U.S. District Court Chief Judge J. Randal Hall also ordered Connelly to pay a fine and assessment of $2,000, register as a sex offender and serve 15 years of supervised release upon completion of his term.

In early 2022, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, GBI, and the Coweta County Sheriff’s Office conducted an online investigation into network sharing of images of child pornography, according to court documents and testimony.

Officials say they discovered an account with nearly 60,000 files, which led them to Connelly’s home.

During a search of his home, investigators found images of child sexual exploitation, including “images depicting sadistic and masochistic sexual contact between adults and children,” according to the United States Department of Justice.

As noted in court, the GBI identified Connelly’s internet address as one of the top offenders in Georgia for sharing child sexual abuse material.

The case was investigated by the GBI, the Coweta County Sheriff’s Office, the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office, and the Burke County Sheriff’s Office, and prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorney and Project Safe Childhood Coordinator Jason W. Blanchard.

Anyone with information on suspected child sexual exploitation can contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 800-843-5678, or https://report.cybertip.org/.