Mississippi AG announces sentencing in child exploitation investigation

BROOKHAVEN, Miss. (VDN) — A Brookhaven man has been sentenced to 40 years in prison, with five years to serve, for possession of child sexual abuse material, Attorney General Lynn Fitch announced Friday.

Austin Christopher Stephenson was sentenced July 28 by Lincoln County Circuit Court Judge David H. Strong Jr. He will serve five years day-for-day without the possibility of parole, followed by five years of supervised probation, in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections.

Stephenson was also ordered to pay $1,000 each to the Mississippi Children’s Trust Fund, the Mississippi Crime Victim Compensation Fund, and the Victims of Human Trafficking and Commercial Sexual Exploitation Fund. He will be required to register as a sex offender upon release.

The case was investigated and prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Office with assistance from the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Department — where the case originated — and the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department.

“Thanks to the diligent work of our cyber crime investigators, we successfully stopped a predator from doing more harm,” Fitch said in a statement. “I am grateful to our partners in law enforcement from across the country who work closely with our office to protect our children and make the internet a safer place.”

Anyone with information about a child being sexually exploited online is urged to call 1-800-843-5678 or make a report at www.cybertipline.org. The hotline is operated 24/7 by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which shares tips with the Attorney General’s Office and the state’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.