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Hope Hull Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Federal Prison for Child Pornography

FROM DEPT. OF JUSTICE, MIDDLE DISTRICT OF ALABAMA

Montgomery, Alabama – On Wednesday, January 22, 2020, Barney Clarence Knotts, 74, who was residing in Hope Hull, Alabama at the time of his arrest, received a ten-year sentence for possession of child pornography, announced United States Attorney Louis V. Franklin, Sr.  Following his prison sentence, Knotts will be subject to supervised release for the rest of his life. 

According to court documents, Knotts was convicted in 1985 for production of child pornography in Mobile County, Alabama and received a 20-year sentence.  In early 2017, he registered his physical address in Hope Hull, Alabama.  In February of that year, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children notified the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) about on-line conversations concerning potential child exploitation from that location.  When ALEA agents went to his house, Knotts gave them permission to search his computers where they discovered more than 1,000 child pornography images and discussions about child exploitation.  Knotts pled guilty to possession of child pornography in federal court in September 2019.  

The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency investigated this case, with assistance from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.  Assistant United States Attorneys Hollie Reed and Russell Duraski prosecuted the case.