VISTA, Calif. (KGTV) - A North San Diego County ranch owner was sentenced Tuesday to 17 and a half years in prison for owning and distributing child pornography.
Christian Clews, who owns Clews Ranch in Carmel Valley, pleaded guilty to both charges.
He kept a hard drive containing sexually explicit videos and pictures of children. Descriptions in a federal court document stated the images showed both boys and girls either naked or engaged in sex acts with other children and adults. One image included an animal.
The FBI said Clews sent the images around the United States and abroad.
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Agents said a tech company alerted them to the crimes in 2016 when Clews uploaded the files to his cell phone.
Before Clews was sentenced, he stood before the judge and said, “I do not find children sexually attractive at all, I'm sorry that this happened and I did possess those images and I did distribute them and I'm sorry about that.”
The prosecutor said Clews was in denial.
Statements from two victims were read in court. The women said Clews brainwashed and controlled them.
Four victims will receive restitution. Two more victims will have restitution hearings.
Clews will be supervised for 25 years after his release from prison.
