Indianapolis Man Sentenced to 78 Months in Federal Prison for Distributing Child Sexual Abuse Material on Facebook

INDIANAPOLIS – Darryl Dwight Lewis, Jr., 32, of Indianapolis, was sentenced to 78 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to distribution and receipt of child sexual abuse material.

According to court documents, on February 23, 2020, Lewis used his Facebook account to send another user a video depicting an adult male engaged in sexual intercourse with a prepubescent boy. Facebook reported the transmission, and the incident was referred to law enforcement officers. Through their investigation, Lewis was identified as the individual associated with the offending Facebook account.

On July 14, 2021, law enforcement officers met with Lewis at his place of employment. Investigators seized a cell phone from Lewis’ pocket and transported him to the police station to be interviewed. A search warrant was executed at Lewis’ residence, and multiple digital devices were seized—including a 32GB thumb drive containing dozens of videos of children engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Lewis admitted during his interview that he used the Facebook account in question to communicate with others. Lewis also admitted that he used a Dropbox account to store child sexual abuse material. Lewis possessed hundreds of images and videos of child sexual abuse in his accounts and on his devices, including depictions children being made to engage in sadistic or masochistic conduct.

Zachary A. Myers, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, and Herbert J. Stapleton, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Indianapolis Field Office, made the announcement.

FBI investigated the case. The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department also provided valuable assistance. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson. As part of the sentence, Judge Magnus-Stinson ordered that Lewis be supervised by the U.S. Probation Office for 15 years following his release from federal prison and ordered Lewis to pay $65,000 in restitution to the child exploitation victims. Lewis must also register as sex offender wherever he lives, works, or goes to school, as required by law.

U.S. Attorney Myers thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristina M. Korobov who prosecuted this case.

This investigation was conducted by the Indiana Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, a partnership of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies led by the Indiana State Police. The Task Force is dedicated to investigating and prosecuting crimes involving the technology-facilitated sexual exploitation of children and the trafficking of child sexual abuse material. Each year, Indiana ICAC investigators evaluate thousands of tips, investigate hundreds of cases, and rescue dozens of children from ongoing sexual abuse. In fiscal year 2019, the most recent year for which data is available, the Southern District of Indiana was second out of the 94 federal districts in the country for the number of child sexual exploitation cases prosecuted.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, 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.justice.gov/psc