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JassoTwo Berryville residents were recently sentenced to federal prison for child exploitation offenses by U.S. District Judge Timothy Brooks in Fayetteville.
Darlina Maree Jasso, 33, was sentenced on May 9 to 120 months without the possibility of parole after being convicted of Transporting a Minor across State Lines to Engage in Sexual Activity.
According to court documents, an officer with the Carroll County Sheriff’s Department contacted the FBI in May 2022 after it was discovered that Jasso had transported a 15-year-old female from the state of Missouri to her Berryville residence, with the intent that she and her boyfriend engage in sexual activity with the minor.
According to a news release from U.S. Department of Justice, law enforcement discovered a surveillance video on Jasso’s phone capturing sexual activity between the two adults and the minor.
Law enforcement also found text message communications on the phone between the boyfriend and Jasso in which they detailed their plan to bring the minor from her home in Missouri and the sexual conduct they intended to engage in with the minor.
Brooks also sentenced Berryville resident Charles Merchant, 32, to 100 months in federal prison without the possibility for parole on May 21 after Merchant was convicted of Transporting Child Pornography.
Per court documents, agents and task force officers with the Homeland Security Investigations received information in August 2022 that Merchant had uploaded images of child sexual abuse material to the social media platform KIK.
Federal law enforcement subsequently executed a search warrant at Merchant’s residence and discovered multiple images of child pornography, according to the release.
FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, the Internet Crimes Against Children Taskforce and the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office investigated the cases while Assistant U.S. Attorney Tyler Williams led the prosecution.
According to the release, the cases were prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, “a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice.”
“Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims,” the release said.
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