Crozet Man Indicted On Child Pornography Charges

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VIRGINIA – A federal grand jury sitting in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Harrisonburg has indicted a local man on a series of charges related to the distribution and possession of child pornography.

Michael G. Morris, a.k.a. “funshooter2006,” was charged today by a federal grand jury in an indictment returned this afternoon. The grand jury has charged Morris, age 50, of Crozet, Va., with two counts of distributing or receiving images of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography.

The indictment alleges that Morris distributed or received images of child pornography on January 6, 2012 and March 19, 2013. The possession charges alleges that on November 6, 2013, Morris possessed images or videos of a minor whom the defendant knew was a prepubescent teen who had not attained 12 years of age.

If convicted, Morris faces a sentence of between five and 20 years in prison on counts one and two and up to 20 years in prison on count three.

The investigation of the case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Nancy Healey and Herbrina Sanders, a Trial Attorney with the Department of Justice’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, will prosecute the case for the United States.

A Grand Jury Indictment is only a charge and not evidence of guilt. The defendant is entitled to a fair trial with the burden on the government to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.