Buchanan County Man Sentenced to 35 Years’ Imprisonment for Manufacturing Child Pornography

ABINGDON, VA—A Buchanan County man was sentenced to federal prison this week after pleading guilty to charges related to the possession and production of child pornography.

Adam Stewart Young, 34, of Buchanan County, Virginia, was sentenced in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Abingdon to 35 years’ imprisonment following his plea of guilty to charges associated with the manufacturing and possession of child pornography. Young had previously pleaded guilty to one count of manufacturing child pornography and two counts of possession of child pornography.

“The United States Attorney’s Office is committed to prosecuting all individuals who exploit children,” United States Attorney Timothy J. Heaphy said today. “It is our duty to do everything allowable by law to protect the innocent victims of child abuse.”

According to evidence presented at his guilty plea and sentencing hearings by Assistant United States Attorney Zachary Lee, law enforcement officers with the Buchanan County Sheriff’s Department and the Virginia States Police executed a search warrant at Young’s residence on May 10, 2008. Officers discovered a large collection of child pornography that had been downloaded by Young from the Internet. Additionally, officers discovered numerous pictures of Young sexually abusing a minor victim.

The investigation of this case was conducted by the Buchanan County Sheriff’s Department, Russell County Sheriff’s Department, Virginia State Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Bristol Resident Office. Assistant United States Attorney Zachary T. Lee and Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Bockhorst of the United States Attorney’s Office in Abingdon prosecuted the case.