Army soldier sentenced to 5 years in prison for possession of child pornography

An Army soldier was sentenced on Friday to serve 60 months in prison for possession of child pornography and threatening to assault or murder a federal employee.

Jahara Byfield, 23, was arrested in August 2020 while he was stationed in Fort Huachuca in Sierra Vista for using phones to get pictures and videos of children engaging in sexual activities, according to a press release from the District of Arizona U.S. Attorney's Office. Some of the children were prepubescent minors, the release said.

Following his arrest, Byfield was placed on pretrial release with computer monitoring restrictions. He pleaded guilty to his charge of possession of child pornography in December 2020, the release said.

Byfield threatened to kill those involved with his computer monitoring during a release while waiting for sentencing. The release was revoked in June 2021 and he was charged for the threats, the release said.

In December 2021, he pleaded guilty to the charge of threatening to assault or murder a federal employee. Last week, he was sentenced to serve 60 months in prison by the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Once released from prison, Byfield will be monitored for life and is required to register as a sex offender, the release said.

His case is a part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative "to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse."

Reach breaking news intern Jane Florance at jflorance@arizonarepublic.com or on Twitter @Florance_Jane.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Jahara Byfield sentenced for possession of child pornography