Former Employee of D.C. School Admits to Transporting Child Pornography Across State Lines and Accessing it Over the Dark Web

A West Virginia man pleaded guilty today to transportation of child pornography, announced Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney G. Zachary Terwilliger for the Eastern District of Virginia and Special Agent in Charge Matthew J. DeSarno of the FBI Washington Field Office’s Criminal Division.

According to court documents, in 2013, Paul Joseph Wilson, 49, lived and worked at a school in Washington, D.C.  While living in a dormitory at the school, Wilson downloaded child pornography from the internet and subscribed to child-pornography-specific newsgroup services.  Wilson later transported child pornography from D.C. to Virginia.  Wilson also admitted to being a member of a child pornography website that operated over the dark web and to using the dark web to access and download images of children being sexually abused.  Sentencing has been set for July 12, 2019 before Senior U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III.

The case is being investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force.  Trial Attorney Kyle P. Reynolds of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathaniel Smith III of the Eastern District of Virginia are prosecuting the case.

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 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, 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 to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.