A former U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer facing child pornography charges was sentenced to prison during a hearing in federal court in Detroit.
Scott James Rocky, 58, of Center Line was sentenced Thursday, May 21, to six years in prison, said Gina Balaya, spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Detroit. A restitution hearing is set for Aug. 14 in U.S. District Court in Detroit, according to court records.
Rocky pleaded guilty to one count of distribution of child pornography in a plea agreement in November. Prosecutors dismissed a possession of child pornography charge.
He was arrested in May 2025. He worked for customs for 17 years, according to a LinkedIn account.
His attorney, Arthur Weiss, said Friday, May 22, that Rocky had a momentary lapse, accessed the material, tried to get rid of it and got caught. He said Rocky lost his job, career, respect, friends “and now his freedom.”
“[He] was just a stellar citizen except for about a week or two when he engaged in this activity,” Weiss said. “[He was] treated for the past year with an individual who indicated that he’s not a pedophile, there’s very little likelihood of reoffending, never acted out. And, like I said, [he] purchased some software and when he realized what he had done, [tried] to get rid of it, but it was there and he got caught.”
Weiss said this had nothing to do with Rocky’s job and occurred in the confines of his residence.
Prosecutors wrote in their sentencing memorandum that “[t]here is no greater betrayal of public trust than a law enforcement officer who becomes the very criminal he is sworn to stop.” They later said: “He understood better than most exactly what this material was, how it was produced, and the harms to the children in it. But that understanding did not stop him. Instead, Rocky allowed an insatiable sexual interest in children — and the gratification he derived from witnessing their abuse — to override every oath he had taken and every obligation his badge imposed.”
Prosecutors recognized Rocky’s early acceptance of responsiblity, voluntary engagement in sex offender treatment since the onset of his bond, lack of prior criminal history, unwavering support of family and ongoing battle with prostate cancer.
They said Rocky first came to law enforcement’s attention after downloading more than 4,000 files flagged as child sexual abuse material through a file sharing program that allows user to remainanonymous. A search of his computer uncovered more than 500 saved files, many depicting real minor children, including toddlers, being abused, according to their sentencing memorandum.
From April 15-29, 2025, Rocky used peer-to-peer software to obtain and share child pornography, including pornographic images of prepubescent minors and minors who had not reached age 12, which he kept on his computer, according to the plea agreement. It said he possessed more than 300, but less than 600, images of child pornography.
Contact Christina Hall: chall@freepress.com. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @challreporter.
Support local journalism. Subscribe to the Free Press.
Submit a letter to the editor at freep.com/letters.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: U.S. customs officer gets prison in federal child porn case
Reporting by Christina Hall, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
