Samson Man Sentenced for Possessing Child Pornography

            Montgomery, ALABAMA – On Friday, December 16, 2022, Harley Dakota Wambles, a 25-year-old from Samson, Alabama, received a 72-month prison sentence after being convicted of possession of child pornography, announced United States Attorney Sandra J. Stewart. In addition to imposing a 6-year prison sentence, the judge ordered Wambles to serve 5 years on supervised release and to pay a total of $18,000.00 in restitution to 6 victims. There is no parole in the federal system.

            According to court records, in 2019, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) received a tip that there were images of child pornography being uploaded using the instant messaging application, Snapchat. The NCMEC provided the information to the FBI and agents identified Wambles’s Internet Protocol address as being associated with the uploads. Agents then examined various electronic devices belonging to Wambles and found, stored on the devices, numerous images containing suspected child pornography. During his plea hearing, Wambles specifically admitted that some of the images were sexually explicit depictions of children under the age of 12.

            This case was investigated by the FBI, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, the Coffee County Sheriff’s Office, and Homeland Security Investigations, with assistance from the NCMEC. Assistant United States Attorney J. Patrick Lamb prosecuted the case.