Trevor J. Mitchell

TMITCHELL@NEWS-LEADER.COM

A former Greene County sheriff's deputy was sentenced Wednesday afternoon for receiving and distributing child pornography.

Juan Jones, 28, was given seven years in federal prison without parole, according to a news release from the United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri. He will also be subject to 10 years of supervised release after his sentence.

The release said Jones had been a deputy from 2013 until 2016, when he was arrested.

Officers began investigating in September 2015 when they received a tip from Dropbox, a file hosting website, that Jones' account contained many files showing child pornography, according to the release.

Investigators searched Jones' residence on Jan. 6, 2016, and he was arrested the same day. The release said he had more than 1,500 images and 451 videos of child pornography and was using multiple mediums to view, receive and distribute the images and videos.

Jones was the subject of a December 2014 feature story in the News-Leader saying he was the county's only black patrol deputy.

In the story, Jones said he grew up poor in St. Louis in and out of 21 foster homes. He said he was homeless in Springfield as recently as 2007.

"I grew up around drugs and alcohol and domestic abuse," he said. "Crack was the main choice of drug. I didn't meet my dad until 2013."

The story said Jones was married and has two young daughters.