Former soldier heading to prison for child pornography, threatening to kill federal employees

SIERRA VISTA, Ariz. - A now former U.S. Army Soldier stationed in southeastern Arizona has been sentenced to more than four years in prison after being found guilty of being in possession of child pornography and making threats against federal employees, says the Offices of the United States Attorneys in an April 11 news release.

Jahara William Byfield, 23, of Sunrise, Florida, was sentenced to 60 months in prison. The news release says Byfield pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography and threatening to assault or murder a federal employee.

He was a U.S. Army soldier stationed at Fort Huachuca, Arizona for training and was arrested in August 2020. Authorities say he used his cell phones to get images and videos "depicting children, including pre-pubescent minors, engaging in sexually explicit conduct."

He was placed on a pretrial release, which included computer monitoring. Months later, he pleaded guilty to a count of possession of child pornography.

In April 2021, while awaiting sentencing and on conditional release, Byfield threatened to kill everyone involved with the computer monitoring program.

As a result, "his pretrial release was subsequently revoked, and on June 23, 2021, Byfield was charged in an indictment for the threats he made towards those supervising him. On December 20, 2021, Byfield pleaded guilty to a charge of threatening to assault or murder a federal employee," said the Offices of the United States Attorneys.

Once released from prison, Byfield will be placed on lifetime supervised release, will be required to register as a sex offender and need to complete a sex offender treatment program.

Those involved in this investigation and prosecution involved: Homeland Security Investigations, Sierra Vista Police Department, Army Criminal Investigation Division, and the U.S. Marshals Service conducted the investigations in this case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Carin C. Duryee and Brian E. Kasprzyk, District of Arizona.