Sex Offender Convicted at Trial on Child Pornography and Failure to Register Charges

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Christopher Daniels, 33, of Philadelphia, PA, was convicted at trial of receiving child pornography as a second time offender, possession of child pornography as a second time offender, access with intent to view child pornography as a second time offender, and failure to register as a sex offender, as required by the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA).

Daniels was first charged with child pornography offenses on March 12, 2015, and in July of that year, pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography. United States District Judge Wendy Beetlestone sentenced Daniels to 70 months in prison and 10 years of supervised release.

The defendant’s term of supervised release commenced on January 15, 2021. Under SORNA, he was required to keep his sex offender registration information, including his registered residential address, current. In July of 2022, Daniels failed to verify his sex offender registration with Pennsylvania State Police as required and went into non-compliant status. Daniels was also found to be non-compliant with the terms of his federal supervised release and a bench warrant was issued for his arrest.

On November 3, 2022, the U.S. Marshals Service arrested Daniels and the FBI conducted a court-authorized search of his residence, seizing several electronic devices belonging to the defendant. Subsequent forensic examination of those devices found thousands of videos and images depicting child pornography and browser searches for such material.

Daniels was charged by indictment on January 19, 2023, and by superseding indictment on August 29, 2023, with child pornography offenses and failure to register.

“After leaving prison in 2021, Mr. Daniels understood his legal responsibilities: comply with the requirements of his supervised release, keep his sex offender registration up to date, and stay away from material depicting the horrific sexual exploitation of children,” said U.S. Attorney Romero. “Well, he did none of those things, and this verdict ensures he’ll answer for it. The safety of our community and its children is the top priority of my office and our law enforcement partners.”

“Protecting children against exploitation remains a priority for the FBI,” said Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Philadelphia. “FBI Philadelphia and our law enforcement partners remain committed to identifying, investigating, and prosecuting those who seek to victimize our most vulnerable.”

“The propensity for underlying crimes of a most heinous nature cannot be discounted when investigating SORNA violations,” said U.S. Marshal Eric Gartner. “As such, the U.S. Marshals Service, together with the USAO and our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners, will aggressively pursue any and all such matters.”

Daniels faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and a statutory maximum of 130 years in prison, and from five years up to a lifetime of supervised release. He also faces a consecutive sentence of two years in prison on his violation of supervised release.

The case was investigated by the FBI and the U.S. Marshals Service and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michelle Rotella.