Sheridan Woman Sentenced 15 Years on Child Pornography Charges

A Sheridan woman will serve two 15-year prison sentences on child pornography charges, according to the minutes of the federal court sentencing hearing on Tuesday.

Jessica Lynn Dierking will serve the terms concurrently, or at the same time, according to the sentence handed down by U.S. District Court Judge Alan Johnson in Cheyenne.

After the prison term ends, Dierking will be on supervised release for five years. During that time, she will become a registered sex offender, receive a mental health evaluation, and receive cognitive/behavioral treatment, according to the minutes of the sentencing hearing.

Monetary penalties include a $200 special assessment, $5,000 to the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015, and $5,000 -- $2,500 for each of the two counts -- to the Amy, Vicky, and Andy Child Pornography Victim Assistance Act.

Dierking was first indicted on Jan. 15 on one count of receiving child pornography on June 25, 2019.

She pleaded not guilty on Jan. 27, and was detained.

On March 18, the federal grand jury issued a superseding indictment with the same count of receipt of child pornography; one count of distribution of child pornography on Sept. 15, 2019, through the internet and a cellular telephone network; one count of "knowingly used, persuaded, induced, enticed, and coerced a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct" to produce child pornography on March 28, 2019; and a second count of production of child pornography on Sept. 15, 2019.

She pleaded not guilty to those charges on March 31.

On Sept. 1, she pleaded guilty to the receipt count and the first count of production.

Johnson sentenced her to 15 years on both counts, even though the sentence for receipt of child pornography is five to 20 years imprisonment.

The distribution and second production counts were dismissed at her sentencing.

The government regards child pornography as a crime of violence because it involves sometimes brutal assaults on very young children who cannot give consent to sexual activity.