Registered sex offender sentenced

Lockesburg man to serve 57 months in child porn case

A federal judge in Texarkana sentenced a registered sex offender to 57 months in prison Thursday in connection with child pornography.

Nolen Reece Baker, 42, of Lockesburg, Ark., was serving a term of probation for internet stalking of a child assessed him in an Arkansas state court when he was charged by federal officials with using a computer to access child pornography.

Baker pleaded guilty to the federal offense in April 2016 and appeared Thursday for sentencing before U.S. District Judge Susan Hickey in the Texarkana Division of the Western District of Arkansas.

Baker was sentenced to a five-year term of probation in September 2013 in Dallas County, Ark., for internet stalking of a child and ordered to register as a sex offender, according to a pending motion to revoke Baker’s probation.

Baker’s case was transferred to Sevier County, Ark., where he lives, for supervision after he was sentenced.

In April 2014, Sevier County probation officers conducted a home visit and received permission from Baker’s father to search a desktop computer Baker used. The computer’s browsing history included sites the probation officials suspected are sources of child pornography.

The Sevier County Sheriff ’s Office confiscated the computer and turned it over to the U.S. Secret Service for forensic analysis.

Baker’s lawyer, federal public defender Bruce Eddy, described Baker as having low intellectual functioning and asked the court to consider a “time served sentence.”

As of Thursday, Baker had been in jail for approximately 19 months.

Baker’s father testified that his son is “slower than most,” and described him as “big-hearted and kind,” under questioning from Eddy.

Under questioning by Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Wulff, Baker’s father struggled to find answers when asked about the pornographic images his son viewed and about a picture of a friend’s granddaughter Baker had sent to others with claims of sexual contact.

Wulff argued to Hickey that the victimization of the children depicted in the photos Baker viewed must be considered.

“The sentence in this case reflects the seriousness of child exploitation cases,” U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas Kenneth Elser said. “Those who view child pornography continue the victimization of children, and our office will continue to vigorously pursue these offenders.”