Tuolumne County Man Convicted for Receiving and Distributing Child Sexual Abuse Material

FRESNO, Calif. - Following a three-day jury trial, Stephen Tyler Prock, 58, of Jamestown, was found guilty today of receipt and distribution of child sexual abuse material (CSAM), U.S. Attorney Eric Grant announced.

According to court documents, as well as testimony and evidence presented at trial, between May 2018 and March 2020, Prock used his desktop computer to receive and distribute over a hundred videos depicting children engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Prock used the peer-to-peer file sharing network Shareaza to download and share the CSAM with others. Additional CSAM was in the process of being downloaded to Prock's computer when agents arrived at his residence to execute a search warrant.

Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brittany M. Gunter and Calvin Lee are prosecuting the case.

Prock is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Thurston on July 27, 2026. Prock faces a mandatory minimum of five years in prison, a maximum of 20 years in prison, and a $250,000 fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. Click on the "resources" tab for information about internet-safety education.