District Man Arrested in Distribution of Child Pornography

           WASHINGTON – Richard J. Pavel III, 34, of the District of Columbia, was arrested and charged last week with distribution and receipt of child pornography in the context of actively discussing the sexual abuse of young boys, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.

           Following his initial court hearing on September 4, Pavel was ordered to be held until his September 9 detention hearing.

           On Sept. 4, 2025, law enforcement executed warrants at Pavel’s residence in Northwest Washington, D.C., seized multiple electronic devices, and arrested Pavel.

           Pavel communicated with another individual regarding his sexual interest in children. During the course of that conversation, he traded multiple images of child pornography.

           The case is being brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (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.       

           This case was investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office and Metropolitan Police Department’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force. The task force is composed of FBI agents, along with other federal agents and detectives from northern Virginia and the District of Columbia. The task force is charged with investigating and bringing federal charges against individuals engaged in the exploitation of children and those engaged in human trafficking.  

           The matter is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rachel Bohlen.

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