Man Sentenced To 10 Years In Prison On Child Pornography Charges

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – On Wednesday, August 13, 2014, Chief U.S. District Judge Frank D. Whitney sentenced Charles Kevin Bridges to 121 months in prison on federal child pornography charges, announced Anne M. Tompkins, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Bridges was ordered to register as a sex offender and to serve the rest of his life under court supervision after he is released from prison. Judge Whitney also ordered Bridges to pay $3,000 as restitution to a child pornography victim.

U.S. Attorney Tompkins is joined in making today’s announcement by John A. Strong, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Charlotte Division and Chief Stacy Conley of the Gastonia Police Department.

In March 2014, Bridges, 56, of Kings Mountain, N.C. pleaded guilty to one count of receiving child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. According to filed documents and statements made in court, in January 2013, a law enforcement officer conducting an investigation downloaded images and videos containing child pornography from Bridges’ computer, using a peer-to-peer network. Law enforcement executed a search warrant at Bridges’ residence and seized a laptop computer and a USB drive. Court records indicate that a forensic examination revealed that Bridges possessed an extensive collection of images and videos depicting children as young as toddlers engaging in sexual acts with adults.

Bridges has been in federal custody since his bond was revoked in March 2013. He will be transferred to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility. Federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole.

The investigation was handled by the FBI and Gastonia Police department with assistance from the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Cortney S. Randall and David A. Thorneloe of the U.S. Attorney’s Office handled the prosecution.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in 2006 by the Department of Justice, aimed at combating the growing online sexual exploitation of children. By combining resources, federal, state and local agencies are better able to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue those victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.