Virginia Beach Man Sentenced to 25 Years for Production of Child Pornography

Norfolk, VA—Steven R. Arnold, age 26, of Virginia Beach, was sentenced today to 25 years in prison for production of child pornography.  Dana J. Boente, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Thomas A. Betro, Director, Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), made the announcement after Arnold was sentenced by United States District Judge Rebecca Beach Smith.  Arnold pled guilty to one count of a four-count criminal indictment on December 18, 2008.

According to court documents, in May 2008, Arnold was using a personal computer that contained a peer to peer file sharing program known as “Limewire.”  “Limewire” permits users on the internet to access other computers running the “Limewire” program and download files that are in a shared folder.  Earlier in May 2008, an undercover agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was using “Limewire” to search for users who possessed files in their “Limewire” shared folders that had file names commonly associated with child pornography.  The undercover agent’s search turned up a hit on Arnold’s computer in Virginia Beach.  Through the use of administrative subpoenas, the FBI determined the computer was in Arnold’s house and that he was active duty Navy.  The FBI forwarded the case to NCIS to open an investigation. 

NCIS agents obtained a warrant and searched Arnold’s house.  During the search, Arnold was interviewed and confessed to downloading and possessing child pornography using the “Limewire” program on his laptop computer.  An analysis of Arnold’s computer revealed 173 images and 19 videos of child pornography.  Additionally, forensic examiners discovered 53 still images and two videos of Arnold molesting his minor son.  According to court documents, Arnold admitted to producing these pornographic images of him and his son engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

The case was investigated by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and Federal Bureau of Investigation.  Assistant United States Attorney Joseph L. Kosky prosecuted the case for the United States.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/vae.  Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.