Jason Wesley Ford
A former Chattanooga postal supervisor from Hixson who was caught up in a sex sting was sentenced on Monday in a child porn case after he said he was guilty of "being stupid."
Jason Wesley Ford, 39, had been on house arrest for 17 months and will stay in that status for another 18 months while avoiding prison under the order from Federal Judge Sandy Mattice.
He will be on supervised release for five years after going off house arrest. He is not allowed to use the computer.
Ford told the judge, "I'm here because I'm stupid. I did a stupid thing."
He said he "was not trolling" for young girls, but had the misfortune of running into not one, but two, undercover officers on the Internet. He said he suspected that the persons he was into contact with were not really minors. He said that is why he asked for them to send him their nude photo.
Prosecutor Terra Bay noted that Ford also sent a photo his genitalia to the alleged minor. No nude photos were ever sent to him.
Ford said he had met other adults on the meetme.com site and had consensual sex with them.
He noted that the site is for adults only. In fact, one officer was kicked off meetme.com by its site administrator after she said she was almost 15.
During the chat with the officer, Ford said he was "looking for some fun," had worked at an adult bookstore, and still had "access to some toys."
After Ford inquired about a photo, the officer said she would have her friend help her, saying she was "the sexy one." Ford replied, "Mmmm nice. . . she is sexy too? Will she be involved? Send me a clean picture of her and you please."
Ford said he wanted her to "prove that you are not a cop."
He said, "I'm not going to jail for anyone (LOL)."