Wasilla man gets 20 years in federal prison for child sexual abuse material

Paul Greeno of Wasilla was sentenced Wednesday, Oct. 7, to 20 years in federal prison for possessing child sexual abuse material, some of it depicting the abuse of infants and toddlers, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Alaska said in a news release.

Twenty years is the most federal law allows for possessing such material when it involves children under 12.

The case against Greeno, 46, started in April 2022, when the FBI received information that he was engaging in inappropriate behavior toward children, according to the office. In June 2022, investigators searched his cell phone under a warrant and found the material.

A criminal complaint filed Aug. 15, 2024, accused Greeno of possessing child pornography and of being a felon in possession of a firearm, and a federal grand jury indicted him a week later. In a March 2025 order, U.S. District Judge Sharon L. Gleason denied his motion to dismiss the firearm count under the U.S. Supreme Court's Bruen decision. On May 5, Greeno pleaded guilty to one count of possession of child pornography. The release does not say how the firearm count was resolved.

In sentencing him, the court said child pornography is a scourge on the community and that punishment must be severe enough to deter others from seeking it out, according to the office. U.S. Attorney Michael J. Heyman called Greeno's actions "unforgivable."

The FBI Anchorage Field Office and the Anchorage Police Department investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alana Weber and Jennifer Ivers prosecuted the case under the Justice Department's Project Safe Childhood.