Paragould, AR – JonesboroRightNow.com – A Paragould man was found guilty of 10 counts of distributing, possessing, or viewing matter depicting sexually explicit conduct of a child by a Greene County jury.
According to a press release from the office of the Prosecuting Attorney for the Second Judicial District, Sonia Hagood, the jury recommended a sentence of 70 years for Cortez Borders in the Arkansas Department of Corrections, which Melissa Richardson, Greene County circuit judge, imposed.
The Jonesboro Police Department’s Internet Crimes Against Children Division received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children on Sept. 8, 2023. The news release said a subsequent investigation revealed that Borders distributed the explicit material and solicited additional images from minors on social media. The release added that he later admitted he had the material on his phone.
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“For the second time this week, this result sends a loud and clear message,” said Deputy Prosecutor Wesley Watts in the release. “We will never stop fighting to protect child victims in Greene County. We are grateful to the jury for their service and to our law enforcement partners and child advocates – especially Sgt. Chris Pigg with the Jonesboro Police Department – for their work on this case.”
Deputy prosecuting attorneys Bradley McBridge, Adam Butler, and Watts, prosecuted the case. The Second Judicial District includes Clay, Craighead, Crittenden, Greene, Mississippi, and Poinsett counties.
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