LITTLE ROCK — A 57-year-old London, Ark. man convicted of producing child pornography involving a 7-year-old has been sentenced to 60 years in prison without the possibility of parole.
Roger Bates was also ordered to pay $4,000 in victim restitution during a hearing Tuesday before U.S. District Judge P.K. Holmes III.
“The conduct at issue in this case involving small children was reprehensible, and this defendant has now been held accountable," U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas Conner Eldridge said in a statement. "No crimes are worse than those that victimize our children. We will continue to aggressively prosecute crimes such as this.”
Bates was investigated after the Johnson County sheriff's office received a tip that he had been taking sexual photos of minors, authorities said. A search of his residence later revealed multiple sexually explicit images of a 7-year-old girl, and police say they have evidence that he produced images involving at least two other minors as well.
In August, Bates pleaded guilty in the case.