Mississippi man Robert Stephan Wilson Jr. gets 40 years over 3,000 child abuse files: prosecutors

“I WAS JUST SATISFYING AN ADDICTION”!!! BELIEVE IT OR NOT, AUTHORITIES SAY FORMER VICKSBURG RESIDENT ROBERT STEPHAN WILSON JR. HARBORED OVER 3,000 CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE FILES AND HELPED REFINE THE CYBER TECHNIQUE THAT CAUGHT HIM… ONLY TO BE SENTENCED TO 40 YEARS IN PRISON.

A former resident of Vicksburg has been ordered to serve 40 years behind bars.

Robert Stephan Wilson Jr., 50, received the sentence following a guilty plea.

The conviction stems from a child exploitation case involving thousands of illicit digital items.

Wilson was living in Long Beach when state law enforcement authorities moved in.

Agents with the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office searched his residence and seized digital storage devices.

Investigators said those seized devices contained more than 3,000 images and videos depicting child sexual abuse.

Wilson initially faced three counts of exploitation of a child.

Then came negotiations over a plea agreement.

Under the terms of that agreement, prosecutors reduced the charges to a single count.

Wilson formally entered a guilty plea to the child exploitation offense.

During a July court hearing, Wilson reportedly admitted to downloading the illicit material.

He told the court that he downloaded the files to satisfy what he described as an addiction.

And the case involved an unusual technological development during the prosecution.

As part of the plea agreement, Wilson assisted prosecutors with a specialized cyber tool.

He helped authorities refine and validate an experimental cyber-search technique.

That same experimental method had initially helped investigators identify and track Wilson.

Yet that cooperation did not spare the defendant a lengthy term of incarceration.

The court sentenced Wilson to 40 years in prison.

There were more than 3,000 illicit files seized.

There was one reduced charge.

There was a 40-year prison sentence.