Three men arrested in a child pornography sweep have been sentenced, and another will be back in court in a few weeks.
Joshua Conner will be in court Jan. 2 on an Effingham County Superior Court criminal plea day before Judge John R. Turner. Conner, from Savannah, was indicted Aug. 1 and charged with distributing 10 videos of minors engaged in sexually-explicit conduct.
Jose Gomez of Savannah entered what is known as an Alford plea Nov. 20 and was sentenced to 10 years of probation, with credit for time served. Gomez was indicted Aug. 1 and charged with two counts of sexual exploitation of children. Investigators said he distributed five videos of minors engaged in sexually-explicit conduct.
Had Gomez gone to trial and been found guilty, he could have faced up to 40 years in prison.
William Oldfield of Springfield pled guilty earlier this year and received 10 years’ probation, with 90 to 120 days to serve at a probation detention center. He avoided a jury trial that had been scheduled for Nov. 8.
Dale Andrew Davis entered a guilty plea Nov. 25 to one count of sexual exploitation of a child. Had he gone to trial and been convicted, David could have faced a maximum sentence of 20 years. He received 10 years of probation, a $2,000 fine and has been banished from Effingham County.
David had pled not guilty at an Aug. 21 arraignment and also filed a motion to quash his indictment as unconstitutionally vague and a motion to dismiss for lack venue.
Soufi Mahmoud of Savannah was indicted Sept. 16 and charged with distributing six videos depicting children in sexually explicit conduct. A bench warrant was issued for his arrest when he failed to show for an Oct. 16 arraignment. His attorneys have filed for a Jackson Denno hearing, claiming statements he made to authorities should be inadmissible.
All five men were arrested in April following a months-long investigation led by Effingham County Sheriff’s Office Investigator Joe Heath and the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
From the five homes, the ECSO seized 10 desktop computers, three laptops, one tablet, six cell phones and five gaming consoles.
All electronic devices in a suspect’s home are seized once authorities find evidence they have been downloading and sharing child pornography.
