Three Men Handed Down Prison Sentences On Child Pornography Charges In Separate Cases

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – On Wednesday, September 16, 2015, U.S. District Judge Max O. Cogburn sentenced an Indian Trail, N.C. man to 20 years in prison on transportation of child pornography charges, announced Jill Westmoreland Rose, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Jason Michael Brown, 41, was also sentenced to a lifetime of supervised release and was ordered to register as a sex offender.

Acting U.S. Attorney Rose is joined in making today’s announcement by John A. Strong, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Charlotte Division.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on or about December 2011, law enforcement became aware that an individual with the username “Gigatribal007,” later identified as Brown, was sharing child pornography using peer to peer software.  The investigation revealed that Brown possessed a collection of child pornography, consisting of more than 10,000 images and videos depicting children being sexually abused.  Brown was also found to have sexually abused a child under the age of five.  According to court records, Brown pleaded guilty in September 2014 to one count of transportation of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography.

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In a separate case, on Tuesday, September 15, 2015, Chief U.S. District Judge Frank D. Whitney sentenced John Moore, Jr., 56, of Monroe, N.C. to 108 months in prison and 20 years of supervised release. According to filed documents and statements made in court, in September 2009, law enforcement became aware of Moore’s collection of child pornography after it was discovered by a computer repair technician who was repairing Moore’s computer.  Court documents indicate that a forensic examination of the seized computer revealed that Moore possessed an extensive collection of child pornography, consisting of more than 1,200 images of child pornography and videos.  Moore pleaded guilty in April 2013 to one count of possession of child pornography.  Judge Whitney also ordered Moore to register as a sex offender once he is released from prison.

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In a third case sentenced this week, on Monday, September 14, 2015, Judge Cogburn sentenced Clinton Williams, Jr., 35, of Charlotte, to 72 months in prison and a lifetime of supervised release.  According to court records, between February and August 2013, Williams accessed and downloaded on his computer child pornography using a peer to peer network.  Court records indicate that Williams, who at the time was a detention officer with the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office, downloaded more than 100 images and videos of child pornography, some of which included children as young as four years old.  Williams pleaded guilty to one count of receiving child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography.  

All three defendants are currently in federal custody and 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.

These investigations were handled by the FBI.  The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department also assisted with the investigation into Williams.  

These cases were 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.