ABERDEEN, Miss. (AP) - A former alderman from Mississippi’s third-largest city has been sentenced to more than seven years in prison after pleading guilty to a federal charge of transporting child pornography.
Ronnie Hale of Southaven was sentenced Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Sharion Aycock. The judge also ordered Hale to serve five years of supervised release and pay $3,500 in restitution.
Hale was ordered to report to prison on Nov. 19. He remains free on bail until then.
Hale resigned his office after his December indictment on charges of taking computer files with “visual depictions of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct” across state lines from Tennessee into Mississippi.
Authorities found the pornography when executing a search warrant following Hale’s arrest for allegedly promising money to a woman for sex.
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Information from: The Commercial Appeal, http://www.commercialappeal.com
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