An Independence man whose cell phone contained 1,333 images and 38 videos of child pornography was sentenced to 20 years in prison Monday.
Crail
Joseph Crail, 40, pleaded guilty to two counts of Distribution of Matter Portraying a Sexual Performance by a Minor and two counts of Possession of Matter Portraying a Sexual Performance by a Minor.
He will have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life and undergo sex offender treatment before being eligible for parole.
Independence Police raided Crail’s home February 25, after being tipped by Oklahoma Bureau of Human Trafficking and Narcotics that Crail sent child pornography to a suspect they arrested in Muskogee, Oklahoma.
The Kenton Commonwealth Attorney’s office released the following statement regarding Crail’s arrest and sentencing:
Judge Gregory Bartlett followed the Commonwealth’s recommendation and sentenced Joseph Crail, 40 of Independence, KY, to 20 years in prison, the maximum sentence under Kentucky law.
Crail previously pled guilty as charged to 2 counts of Distribution of Matter Portraying a Sexual Performance by a Minor and 2 counts of Possession of Matter Portraying a Sexual Performance by a Minor.
Commonwealth’s Attorney Rob Sanders said the maximum sentence was appropriate considering the explicit and graphic sexual abuse of children depicted in the movies and photographs. Sanders called the evidence “About as disturbing and disgusting as child porn gets.”
Independence Police raided Crail’s home on February 25, after receiving evidence from the Oklahoma Bureau of Human Trafficking and Narcotics that Crail had sent child pornography to a suspect they arrested in Muskogee, Oklahoma. Independence Police sent several seized electronic devices to the Kentucky State Police E-Crimes Branch who located 1,333 images and 38 videos containing child pornography on two of Crail’s cellular phones.
Upon the completion of the electronic searches, Independence Police Detective Mark Fielding obtained a warrant for Crail’s arrest on March 21, 2017. Crail was eventually located in California and extradited back to Kentucky on April 4, 2017 and has remained in the Kenton County Detention Center since.
“Child pornography is not a victimless crime. These are real kids who are being raped and sodomized somewhere,” said Sanders. “Numerous children were subjected to horrific abuse because criminals like Mr. Crail create a demand for these disgusting movies and images,” he said.
Crail will be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life and undergo sex offender treatment before being eligible for parole.
