A Leslie County man, Finley Wooton, 33, from Hyden, Kentucky, has been sentenced to 180 months in federal prison for attempted production of child pornography. The sentence was handed down by Chief U.S. District Judge David Bunning.
Court documents show that on April 10, 2023, Wooton communicated with a minor through Facebook Messenger. During this exchange, he sent sexually explicit images and requested similar images from the minor. This led to his conviction for attempting to persuade the minor to produce child pornography using the messaging platform.
Federal law requires Wooton to serve at least 85 percent of his sentence before becoming eligible for release. After serving his prison term, he will be supervised by the U.S. Probation Office for ten years.
Paul McCaffrey, First Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Olivia Olson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Louisville Field Division; and Col. Phillip J. Burnett, Jr., Commissioner of the Kentucky State Police announced the conviction together.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI and Kentucky State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Blankenship prosecuted the case.
The prosecution is part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative started by the Department of Justice in 2006 aimed at addressing child sexual exploitation and abuse nationwide. The project brings together federal, state, and local resources to identify and prosecute offenders who exploit children online and works to rescue victims. More information about Project Safe Childhood can be found at www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
