Former Georgia soldier pleads guilty to obtaining nude images from 13-year-old girl

A former Fort Stewart-based soldier who admitted to producing child sexual assault material involving a 13-year-old was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Aaron D. Sutherland, 28, will have to register as a sex offender for life upon his release from federal prison. There is no parole.

“Producing sexual assault material of children is an intolerable crime that will not go unpunished,” said U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary. “Law enforcement at every level will pursue justice when adults sexually entice, abuse or harm a minor.”

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According to court documents, Sutherland admitted he began communicating with a 13-year-old girl while he was on active duty for the U.S. Army at Fort Stewart in Feb. 2021.

Sutherland enticed the victim to send multiple nude images and videos of a sexual nature and asked to meet the child to engage in sexual activity.

The minor victim’s mother discovered her child messaging a man in April 2021 after she observed her child acting strangely and confiscated her phone, and reported the crime to authorities.

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Sutherland was arrested on May 3, 2021, and he provided law enforcement with his secret image vault, where he saved all of the pictures and videos of the child.

Special Agent Katrina Berger, who oversees Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) operations in Georgia and Alabama, said this case is an example of why parents need to use caution when allowing their children to use the internet or social media.

“Cases like this underscore the need to be careful when our kids use the internet or social media; Sutherland used the internet to assist him in exploiting an innocent child. Thankfully, he was caught and will no longer be able to hurt children,” Katrina Berger said. “Protecting our most vulnerable populations from exploitation is one of HSI’s most important missions, and we are fortunate to have great working relationships with our law enforcement partners that provide invaluable assistance.”

After Sutherland’s prison sentence, he will have 25 years of supervised release and will have to pay $250,000 in restitution.

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