Ayden Resident Sentenced To 160 Months For Distribution Of Child Pornography

RALEIGH - United States Attorney Thomas G. Walker announced that in federal court today GEORGE MADDISON VENTERS, 52, was sentenced by Federal District Court Judge Terence W. Boyle to 160 months’ imprisonment and lifetime supervised release for distributing child pornography.

     During the course of an investigation of online trafficking in child pornography, law enforcement identified VENTERS as an individual engaged in the distribution and receipt of child pornography.  A search warrant was executed at his Ayden home in October of 2011 by the Pitt County Sheriff’s Office and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, and revealed a massive collection of child pornography, constituting more than 200,000 videos and images of children being sexually abused.  The investigation revealed that VENTERS had been collecting the material for over a decade.

“This defendant is one of the largest collectors of child sex abuse images in the history of our district,” said Walker.  “To collect a virtual library of such material – every item of which depicts a real child suffering unspeakable abuse – shows a callousness that shocks the conscience.  Our office will continue to make aggressive combating of this crime one of our highest priorties.”

Walker also praised the manner in which the investigation and prosecution were conducted. “This is great example of prosecutors and investigators at every level of law enforcement working together towards a great result.  Unfortunately, child exploitation has become a problem too big for any one agency to address effectively.  When local, state and federal law enforcement share ideas, resources, and practical assistance, however, we are extremely effective.  We are fortunate to have such great partners in this important work.”

This case was part of the Project Safe Childhood initiative, a national program aimed at ensuring that criminals exploiting children are effectively prosecuted by making full use of all available law enforcement resources at every level.  For more information about this important national project, Project Safe Childhood, go to www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

Investigation of this case was conducted by the Pitt County Sheriff’s Department, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation and the North Carolina Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, and prosecution was coordinated with the Pitt County District Attorney’s Office and District Attorney Kimberly Robb.  Assistant United States Attorney Jay Exum prosecuted the case for the United States.