Itawamba County man sentenced for child sexual abuse and material production

GREENVILLE, Miss. – A 31-year-old Itawamba County man was sentenced Wednesday to 20 years in federal prison for producing images of a child during a sexual assault and distributing child sexual abuse material.

Chief U.S. District Court Judge Debra M. Brown sentenced Keith Blake Clifton to 180 months for the production of the material and 60 months for its distribution, ordering the terms to run consecutively for a total of 240 months. Upon release, Clifton will serve five years of supervised release and must register as a sex offender.

The investigation began after the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) alerted law enforcement that a user on a mobile messaging app was sharing explicit material. Investigators with the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office and the FBI identified the user as Clifton. A forensic analysis of his devices uncovered more than 1,000 images, including depictions of infants and toddlers.

According to court documents, Clifton admitted to sexually abusing a child in his care and photographing the encounter. In addition to his prison term, the court ordered him to pay $66,500 in restitution to victims.

“The actions of Clifton were abhorrent, and such acts against a child will never be tolerated,” said U.S. Attorney Scott Leary. “The prevention and prosecution of crimes against the most vulnerable among us will always be a top priority of this office.”

Special Agent in Charge Robert Eikhoff of the FBI Jackson Field Office emphasized the collaborative effort required to bring the defendant to justice.

“When children are victimized, the FBI, along with our law enforcement partners, will bring to bear every effort to ensure perpetrators like Keith Clifton are held accountable,” Eikhoff said.

Clifton also faces state charges in Itawamba County Circuit Court, which remain pending.

The case was investigated by the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office, the FBI, the Itawamba County Sheriff’s Department, and the Fulton Police Department as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide Department of Justice initiative. Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie Addison prosecuted the case.