Federal Jury Convicts Statesville Man Of Child Pornography

STATESVILLE, N.C. – A federal jury convicted Jessie Leroy Glass, Jr., 49, of Statesville, for possession and receipt of child pornography, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. U.S. District Judge Kenneth D. Bell presided over the two-day trial which ended late yesterday.

Robert M. DeWitt, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Charlotte Division, Ronnie Martinez, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in North Carolina and South Carolina, and Sheriff Darren Campbell of the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office join U.S. Attorney King in making today’s announcement.

According to trial evidence, witness testimony and filed court documents, between January and February 2020, Glass received and possessed images and videos of child pornography. As trial evidence established, the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office initiated an investigation into Glass after an individual alerted law enforcement about Glass’s possession of child pornography. Over the course of the investigation, law enforcement recovered two cell phones associated with Glass. A forensic analysis of the cell phone devices revealed that they contained images and videos depicting the sexual abuse of children, including infants and toddlers.

The jury convicted Glass of three counts of receipt of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. Glass was released on bond. A sentencing date has not been set.

The charge of possession of child pornography carries a statutory penalty of up to 20 years in prison. Each count of receipt of child pornography carries a minimum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney King commended the FBI, HSI, and the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office for their investigation of the case.

Assistant United States Attorneys Kimlani Ford and Stephanie Spaugh of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte are prosecuting the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), 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 to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.