Boone County Man Sentenced to Eight Years in Federal Prison for Receiving Child Pornography

CHARLESTON, WV—U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin today announced that a Boone County man was sentenced to eight years and one month in federal prison, followed by 15 years of supervised release, for receiving child pornography. Daniel C. Runion, 27, of Seth, Boone County, West Virginia, previously pleaded guilty in June. Runion admitted that on July 29, 2011, he used his computer and a file sharing program to knowingly receive via the Internet child pornography; that is, images and videos of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, including actual or simulated sexual intercourse and the lascivious exhibition of the genitals and pubic area of the minors. Runion admitted that he received and transported the images and videos of the minors while at a residence in Seth. Runion further admitted that he knew the images and videos constituted child pornography.

The investigation revealed that Runion knowingly possessed more than 600 images and videos on his computer depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Some of the images have been identified as known children.

The Boone County Sheriff’s Department, the Nitro Police Department, the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Department, the Charleston Police Department, the West Virginia Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation West Virginia Cyber Crimes Task Force conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Lisa Johnston handled the prosecution. The sentenced was imposed by United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr.

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 the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “Resources.”