A Bowling Green man and one-time Department of Homeland Security employee has been ordered to serve a five-year prison sentence in a federal case involving child sexual exploitation.

A commitment order filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court indicates that Jason Durrett, 47, has been directed to spend 60 months in prison after having pleaded guilty to a charge of receipt of child pornography.

Durrett had been scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in Louisville last month to be sentenced on the charge by U.S. District Judge Benjamin Beaton.

The five-year sentence was the mandatory minimum penalty that could be imposed on Durrett in this case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Madison Sewell and Durrett’s attorney, Chris Davenport, had each filed sentencing memorandums asking the court to impose a five-year prison term.

Davenport’s memorandum noted Durrett’s military service in multiple tours of duty in active combat zones along with a number of commendations he received from the U.S. Army.

Durrett pleaded guilty to the charge in May, admitting having exchanged emails with a person in Missouri between Jan. 1, 2013, and April 28, 2015, and knowing that many of the emails he received from the person contained images of children being sexually exploited.

Durrett had previously served as a mission support specialist with the Bowling Green field office of the Department of Homeland Security and worked as a supply technician with the Western Kentucky University ROTC, court records said.

A federal grand jury indicted Durrett on four counts of receiving child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography, though the plea agreement he reached with prosecutors would dismiss four of the five counts.

A criminal complaint detailed how Durrett came to the attention of law enforcement through a recurring background check conducted in 2020 by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Personnel Security Unit.

According to the filing, Durrett had been named in a 2015 investigation of a Missouri resident who would later be convicted of possessing child pornography.

The Missouri resident reportedly exchanged numerous emails with Durrett that featured pictures and videos of juvenile girls, and Durrett sent emails indicating a sexual interest in juveniles, records show.

The FBI obtained information enabling investigators to link the emails to an account associated with Durrett, and when FBI agents interviewed Durrett, he admitted to using his laptop to view and download images of child sexual exploitation, according to the criminal complaint.

In addition to the five-year sentence, Durrett has been ordered to pay $3,000 in restitution.

– Follow courts reporter Justin Story on Twitter @jstorydailynews or visit bgdaily news.com.