Hallows Sentenced To 46 Months In Federal Prison After Pleading Guilty To Possession Of Child Pornography

Local authorities arrested Hallows on Oct. 16, 2019.  Federal prosecutors filed a Felony Information in May 2020 charging him with possession of material containing an image of child pornography involving a minor who had not attained 12 years of age. Local charges were dismissed following the filing of the federal charges.

As a part of a plea agreement reached with federal prosecutors, Hallows admitted that in 2019 he knowingly possessed sexually explicit images of children on his cell phone. The images included depictions of prepubescent children being sexually assaulted by adults.

Federal prosecutors agreed to recommend Hallows be given credit for acceptance of responsibility in the case and be sentenced to 46 months in federal prison, the low end of the federal sentencing guidelines in the case.  There is no parole in the federal prison system. When he finishes his sentence, he will be on supervised release for five years.  He was ordered to pay a $5,000 assessment under the Justice for Victims Trafficking Act as well as a $100 assessment for the count of conviction. 

Local and federal law enforcement agencies and prosecutors coordinated the investigation and prosecution of this case, including members of the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force, the Davis County Sheriff’s Office, the Davis County Attorney’s Office and the U.S. Attorney’s Office. This coordination happens regularly in child exploitation cases because of the significant penalties available in the federal system.  Law enforcement task force officers investigating these cases work seamlessly with prosecutors in either venue.   

“These are cases that motivate all prosecutors because they involve the victimization and exploitation of children,” U.S. Attorney John W. Huber said today. “My office regularly partners with the Office of the Davis County Attorney on child exploitation cases such as this one, as we do with other county attorney offices throughout the state. Together, we seek the best court system to achieve justice for child victims and their families.  We recognize and appreciate the significant work Davis County officers and prosecutors contributed to the successful prosecution of this case.”

Federal judges consider a number of factors when imposing a sentence for possession of child pornography.  They include the number of images, use of a computer, distribution of the images, the defendant’s abuse of a position of trust to conceal the offense, the ages of the children in the images, the defendant’s criminal history, the nature and circumstances of the offense, and the characteristics of the defendant. Multiple counts do not change the sentence because the court is aware of each image possessed by the defendant regardless of how many counts are charged.