'Especially heinous' Arkansas man gets 300 years in child porn case, attorney general says

An Arkansas man was sentenced to 300 years imprisonment on charges involving distributing and sharing child pornography, according to state officials.

Ronald Anthony Antoniello, 73, of Fouke was found guilty by a Miller County jury of 30 counts of distributing, possessing or viewing matter depicting sexual exploitation of children, the Arkansas attorney general's office said in a news release Thursday.

He was sentenced to 300 years in prison and faces a $300,000 fine, officials said.

Antoniello was arrested on a warrant served Sep. 3, 2014, after an undercover investigator discovered a computer at his address was sharing files containing suspected child pornography, according to an affidavit.

The investigator said he was able to connect to Antoniello's computer and view the files he downloaded, including several videos titled "underage girls enjoying themselves" that depicted children engaged in sexual acts.

Agents seized two computers, several hundred CDs and DVDs and other electronic devices from Antoniello's home, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette previously reported. The state Cyber Crimes Unit was assisted in the investigation by the Miller County sheriff's office and the Arkansas State Police, the paper reported.

In a statement, Attorney General Leslie Rutledge called Antoniello "an especially heinous criminal" and said: "I am glad this evil individual can no longer prey on innocent children.”

Read Friday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.

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