Former Airman sentenced to over 10 years in federal prison for possession of child pornography. Published Sept. 3, 2009 By Submitted by 341st Missile Wing Staff Judge Advocate's Office MALMSTROM AIR FORCE BASE, Mont. -- Former Staff Sgt. James N. Lassiter, who was previously assigned to the 819th RED HORSE Squadron, recently was sentenced to more than 10 years in federal prison and lifetime supervised release for possession of child pornography. On Aug. 24, 2009, Mr. Lassiter appeared in United States District Court before Judge Sam E. Haddon and received his sentence. He previously had pled guilty to possession of child pornography following the discovery of 64 video files and 59 images of child pornography on his computer. In June 2008, United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Air Force Office of Special Investigations investigated an Internet Protocol address located in Great Falls, Mont. The Wyoming Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force determined that a computer utilizing that IP address had received child pornography images via a peer-to-peer file sharing network. Following an investigation of the computer associated with the IP address, it was determined the computer belonged to James Lassiter. Mr. Lassiter's computer was searched, resulting in the discovery of 64 video files and 59 images that included images of children ranging from the age of 8 to under the age of 18 participating in sexually explicit conduct. The maximum penalty Mr. Lassiter faced was 30 years in prison and $500,000 in fines. Ultimately, Mr. Lassiter received 121 months in prison, with lifetime supervised released following his prison tenure. Prior to his sentencing, Mr. Lassiter had been discharged from the Air Force. On the sentence, Col. Mike Fortney, 341st Missile Wing Commander said, "This sentence shows possession of child pornography is most serious." Colonel Fortney's message was simple, "If you do it, you'll get caught. And if you are convicted in federal district court, you'll go to prison, most likely for a very long time." Since there is no parole in the federal system, the "truth in sentencing" guidelines dictate that Mr. Lassiter likely will be imprisoned for almost all of the time imposed by the court. While Mr. Lassiter will have the opportunity to earn a sentence reduction for "good behavior," federal law states that this reduction cannot exceed 15 percent of the overall sentence. Wing leadership remains committed to pursuing every case of child pornography that comes to their attention. After all, according to Colonel Fortney, "Viewing child pornography is far from victimless. These children are someone's sons and daughters; every image is documentation of a crime scene."