Former Plainfield Man Gets 7-Year Prison Term for Child Pornography

A former Plainfield man will serve seven years in federal prison for transporting child pornography, making it available via a file-sharing network that was downloaded by an undercover law enforcement officer.

Jay "Jerry" Engle, 58, who relocated to Westfield, Ind., began his sentence this week, five months after pleading guilty to transporting at least 120 images and 10 videos, federal prosecutors said in a press release issued today.

In 2009, Engle installed software on his laptop computer that allowed him to create a private peer-to-peer network in which “friends” could share image and video files via the Internet. His screen name was “Skillett,” and his entire child pornography collection totaled more than 600 image and video files, according to court documents.

The 84-month sentence, followed by lifetime supervised release and restrictions on his use of computers and the Internet, was handed down Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Matthew F. Kennelly. Engle will also pay a $5,000 fine.

The minimum sentence Engle faced was five years, and federal law requires that he serve at least 85 percent of his seven-year sentence before he is eligible for release, prosecutors said. There is no parole in the federal prison system.

According to court records, Engle learned in June 2010 that FBI agents had executed a federal search warrant of his Plainfield home, prompting him to remove the file-sharing software from his laptop and to run a program to erase its contents. He also drilled holes into an external USB drive on which he maintained his collection of child pornography and threw it in the garbage.

When first interviewed by agents, Engle denied viewing child pornography, according to court documents.