JOHNSON CITY - Oct 18, 2013 - An East Tennessee couple is facing a list of charges, accused of selling their children to take part in sex films.

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UPDATE: June 6, 2016 - Man gets life for selling daughters to Porn Ring
SEE: http://www.local8now.com/content/news/Tenn-man-gets-life-for-selling-daughters-to-porn-ring-382042861.html

UPDATE: Jan 16, 2016 - A Tri-Cities man has been convicted of selling his children to a sex film ring.

SEE INFORMATION RELATED TO THE ARREST OF THIS CASE ON OCT 18, 2013 @ THE BOTTOM OF THIS UPDATED REPORT:

On Thursday, a federal jury convicted Ronnie McCall, 60, of Johnson City on four counts related to the sexual exploitation of three of his daughters.

The counts include permitting a child in his custody and control to travel in interstate commerce to produce child pornography; production of child pornography; production of child pornography by a parent; and using a means of interstate commerce to induce a minor to engage in illegal sexual activity (child rape under Tennessee law).

Prosecutors said their daughters were 5, 11, 14 and 16 at the time.

Prosecutors also said the man who allegedly had sexual contact with the underage girls and filmed the encounters committed suicide.

“While we cannot reclaim the children’s lost childhoods or innocence, we will hold people who sexually victimize children accountable for their conduct,” Harr added.

A sentencing has been scheduled for June 6, 2016. McCall faces a mandatory sentence of 30 years in prison.

His wife, 40-year-old Connie McCall, faced the same charges and pleaded guilty in February 2014 to production of child porn by a parent.

Johnson City police arrested the McCalls in 2012 and charged them with felony child abuse and neglect. Both have been in federal custody since October 2013.

Investigators said the family lived in a mobile home and described the conditions inside the home as deplorable.

“This prosecution underscores the importance of our partnership with local and state authorities, social service agencies, and others in protecting children, who are some of the most vulnerable members of our community,” said Nancy Harr, acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Tennessee.

ARREST- OCT 18, 2013 – An East Tennessee couple is facing a list of charges, accused of selling their children to take part in sex films.

Connie Sue McCall, 40, and her husband, Ronnie Lee McCall, 61, of Johnson City have been charged by a federal grand jury.

Paperwork shows the couple was selling their four daughters.

Prosecutors say the four girls were between the ages of 5 and 16 when this happened.

They also say their parents were strung out on bath salts at the time.

Investigators believe the children were taken to several places, and forced to perform sexual acts. The family was also found living in unsanitary conditions.

"Just filth and extremely deplorable," said Investigator Debbie Dunn with the Johnson City Police Department.

Investigators say their six year old daughter had head and body lice, flea bites, ring worm, and severe dental problems.

"The amount of tooth decay, you can imagine, was extremely painful. She had black teeth, and holes in all the teeth, just really inexcusable," Dunn said.

An investigation found the couple's four girls had been forced to perform sexual acts in different parts of Johnson City. The US Attorney's Office picked up the case after they learned one of the children had been taken to South Carolina to make porn.

"When you have parents allegedly making money off their kids through pornography and exploitation, even after 20 years, it's one of the worst cases I've ever seen," said 1ST Judicial District Attorney General Tony Clark.

Connie and Ronnie McCall are behind bars. In addition to state charges, they face at least 30 years in prison, if convicted.

Authorities say the girls are doing well. They are safe, clean, and in the custody of child protective services. They hope all four girls will be adopted as a family.