Curious Browsing Ends: Suspect Sentenced for Child Porn Download

PARAGOULD, Ark. (KAIT) - A man who informed authorities he obtained child sexual abuse materials "from curiosity" has learned his fate involves spending the next four decades behind bars.

On Monday, May 5, Ian Jamison Center, who was 51 years old at the time, admitted guilt to four charges related to the distribution, possession, or viewing of material featuring sexual content involving a minor.

Judge Randy Philhours from the Second Judicial Circuit handed down a sentence of 120 months in the Arkansas Department of Corrections followed by 120 months of supervised probation for Center, with both periods to be served sequentially for each charge.

As stated in the sentencing order, Center entered a plea of not guilty for one charge related to possessing a Schedule I/II controlled substance along with an additional 36 counts involving child sexual abuse material. All 37 charges together were subsequently dismissed without prosecution.

After completing his 40-year term with the ADC, Judge ordered Center to pay all court expenses and charges in $50 monthly payments and register as a sex offender.

As per an affidavit from 2024 acquired by K8 News after several weeks of requests, the Jonesboro Police Department’s Internet Crimes Against Children Division had been "carrying out online probes into file-sharing related to identified imagery of child sexual exploitation materials."

The legal papers indicated that multiple instances of downloading child sexual abuse content occurred from an IP address traced back to the home at 1234 Oakdale Street in Paragould, which belongs to the Center family.

According to the affidavit, on April 12, 2024, investigators carried out a search warrant at the residence and found an external hard drive attached to a desktop computer.

"Multiple files of interest along with child sexual abuse content were found on the device," stated Detective Chris Pigg.

Detectives also reported finding a small clear bag containing 1.5 grams of suspected methamphetamine.

"Ian Center indicated that he possesses a collection of child sexual abuse materials and mentioned that he began searching for it out of 'curiosity,' " Pigg stated in the affidavit.

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