KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A Sevierville man was sentenced to serve more than 12 years in prison after the U.S. Attorney's Office said he pleaded guilty to receiving child pornography.
In a release, prosecutors said Ronnie Joe Maples, 47, pleaded guilty to talking with another person about actively molesting children and making child pornography on the internet. It said during those discussions, he received child pornography from the person.
The release said that the person began working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Secret Service in November 2022. It also said authorities were able to get a search warrant for Maples' Facebook account and cell phone, which prosecutors said confirmed he had gotten child pornography.
He was sentenced to 151 months in prison and will be on lifetime supervised release. He will also need to register with state sex offender registries.
