Grafton Resident Sentenced to Over Eight Years on Child Pornography Charge

CLARKSBURG, WV—A 26 year old Grafton, West Virginia, resident was sentenced on July 1, 2009, in United States District Court in Clarksburg by Judge Irene M. Keeley.

United States Attorney Sharon L. Potter announced that DARRIC JOEL SWEENEY was sentenced to 97 months’ imprisonment to be followed by lifetime supervised release. SWEENEY entered a plea of guilty on March 3, 2009, to one count of possessing a computer disk and other material containing images of child pornography that had been shipped and transported in interstate commerce via a computer on February 1, 2008, in Grafton.

SWEENEY was remanded to the custody of the United States Marshal.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In February 2006, the Department of Justice created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David J. Perri and was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigations.