Virginia Man Sentenced To 11 Years In Prison For Traveling To Engage In Illicit Sexual Conduct With A Minor And Possession Of Child Pornography

     WASHINGTON – Chad Pyles, 23, of Arlington, Va., was sentenced today to 11 years in prison on federal charges of traveling interstate to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor and possession of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr., Andrew G. McCabe, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and Cathy L. Lanier, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). 

     Pyles pled guilty in February 2014 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.  He was sentenced by the Honorable Richard J. Leon. Upon completion of his prison term, Pyles will be placed on 25 years of supervised release.

     According to the government's evidence, on Aug. 7, 2013, Pyles contacted an undercover officer with the FBI's Child Exploitation Task Force, who had posted an ad on a social network site.  Over the next few days, Pyles engaged in e-mail and text message conversations with the undercover officer, whom he believed was the father of an under-aged girl. Pyles arranged with the undercover officer to meet for the purpose of engaging in sexual acts with that child. 

     During their communications, Pyles also sent the undercover officer five images of child pornography.  On Sept. 10, 2013, Pyles traveled from Virginia to a pre-arranged meeting place in Washington, D.C.  When he arrived at the meeting place, he was arrested.  Pursuant to a search of Pyles’s computer, law enforcement recovered several videos of child pornography.

     This case was brought as part of the Department of Justice's Project Safe Childhood initiative and investigated by the FBI's Child Exploitation Task Force, which includes members of the FBI's Washington Field Office and MPD.  In February 2006, the Attorney General created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse.  Led by the U.S. Attorney's Offices, 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 identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

     In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen, Assistant Director in Charge McCabe, and Chief Lanier praised the work of the MPD Detectives and Special Agents of the FBI Child Exploitation Task Force. They also commended the efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorney Ari Redbord, who prosecuted the case.